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China’s Eileen Gu reacts afrer successful a silver medal in ladies’s slopestyle on the Winter Olympics on Tuesday (Monday evening PT) in Zhangjiakou, China. It was the second medal of those Olympics for Gu, an 18-year-old from San Francisco. (AP Photograph/Francisco Seco)
By PAT GRAHAM | The Related Press
ZHANGJIAKOU, China — In a post-event interview, Eileen Gu was praised for grabbing “gold” along with her closing run.
“Silver,” she ever-so-politely corrected. “Don’t tease me like that.”
By the slimmest of margins, too.
The standout American-born freestyle skier who represents China completed runner-up along with her final run of the Olympic ladies’s slopestyle contest on Tuesday (Monday evening PT). It retains alive the 18-year-old from San Francisco’s quest to change into the primary action-sports athlete to seize three medals on the identical Winter Video games.
Her bid for one more gold medal was thwarted by Mathilde Gremaud. The skier from Switzerland ended up taking the occasion by simply 0.33 with a sensational second run. Kelly Sildaru of Estonia took dwelling bronze on a bitterly chilly and hazy day with the temperature hovering round minus 5 levels.
“So, so particular,” Gu stated of incomes silver. “It actually got here right down to the final run – once more.”
Identical to final week, when she earned gold in huge air by developing clutch in her closing try.
“I don’t know why I preserve doing it to myself,” Gu stated. “It doesn’t make it simple for myself. It actually doesn’t make it simple for my coaches. My mother has a coronary heart assault on daily basis. It’s undoubtedly not the simplest. However I’m glad I used to be capable of push by way of and switch that strain into gas.”
Sitting in eighth place after two runs, Gu used a robust closing efficiency to work her approach onto the rostrum. Her run included a double-cork 900 with a Buick seize on the finish that impressed the judges and earned her a rating of 86.23. She couldn’t catch Gremaud, although, who scored an 86.56 on her second run.
It’s an improve in medals for Gremaud, who gained the silver on the 2018 Pyeongchang Video games and captured bronze in huge air final week in Beijing. She additionally completed second on the Winter X Video games final month.
That’s now two medals for Gu, who's competing for her mom’s dwelling nation of China. She’s additionally within the halfpipe competitors beginning with qualifying on Thursday (Wednesday PT).
“My aim coming into the Olympics was to have one gold and have yet one more podium in a unique occasion,” Gu stated. “I’ve already met that aim and I’m going into my strongest occasion (halfpipe).”
It was a tough begin for Gu, who struggled on an early rail in her first run. Then, on her second go by way of the Secret Backyard course, she over-rotated on a trick off a rail and tumbled to the snow. She put her helmet again on and skied to the underside.
Earlier than beginning her third and closing run, she put her arms on her hips and stared off to the facet of the course to search out her focus. Then she turned in a splendid run.
“Completely love Eileen. She’s simply an unimaginable human,” stated American skier Maggie Voisin, who completed fifth. “I imply, nobody works as laborious as that woman does. She deserves all the pieces.”
American freestyle skier Marin Hamill made the sector for the ultimate however didn’t begin after hurting her leg in a crash through the qualifying spherical. The staff stated she was heading again to the US for additional analysis.
Medal # 2️⃣ for Eileen Gu. 🥈
The 18-year-old earns her second Olympic medal of the 2022 #WinterOlympics in ladies's freeski slopestyle.
📺 @nbc and @peacockTV
💻 https://t.co/kCkQzKDhzepic.twitter.com/oDfUgndd3g— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) February 15, 2022