Eileen Gu held her nerve to reach the final of the women’s freeski halfpipe on Thursday in an event marred by former Olympic champion Cassie Sharpe’s horrific crash.
China’s defending champion Gu, who has already won two silver medals in Italy, stayed on track for her first gold of the Milan-Cortina Games despite a fall on her first run.
That put her under huge pressure for the second of her two runs, with the top 12 of 21 competitors advancing to Saturday’s final.
But she produced the goods in her second run of two, scoring 86.50 to qualify in fifth position.
Great Britain’s Zoe Atkin topped the charts with 91.50, ahead of China’s Li Fanghui, with 90.00. Canada’s Sharpe was third, despite her crash.
Gu, 22, came to the Games in Italy targeting a clean sweep of golds in her three events after winning two golds and a silver at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
But she came up just short in the slopestyle and big air competitions in Livigno.
Dressed in her trademark white suit with dragon motifs, Gu was first to go on Thursday and appeared to be in control during her first run.
But she clipped the wall of the halfpipe halfway down the course and slithered to the base, losing a ski.
Gu faced a long wait before starting her second run, adding to the sense of pressure, bouncing up and down to keep warm.
Eventually she went and shaved the wall again, but this time stayed on her skis and completed her run, spreading her arms wide in relief.
Sharpe tumbled during her second run, losing her skis and poles and lying motionless on the snow.
She was given medical help for about 10 minutes before being dragged off the course on a stretcher.
Wearing a neck brace, she briefly lifted her head and waved to the crowd.
Sharpe, 33, won halfpipe gold at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and took silver in Beijing four years ago.
In halfpipe, competitors perform a series of tricks while skiing down a semi-cylindrical slope.
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