Gu Ailing in action during the FIS Halfpipe World Cup women's freeski final in Zhangjiakou, north China's Hebei Province, December 9, 2023. /CFP
Gu Ailing in action during the FIS Halfpipe World Cup women's freeski final in Zhangjiakou, north China's Hebei Province, December 9, 2023. /CFP
China's Gu Ailing won the FIS Halfpipe World Cup women's freeski with a dominant score of 94.25 points from her second run in Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou, north China's Hebei Province on Saturday.
Gu, 20, went into the competition with a top finish in the qualifying round. Her score of 90.25 points in the first run was later proven enough to land her the title, but she still topped it in the second, despite an injury from a week ago that demanded surgery. The two-time Olympic champion went on to round off her debut performance of the season with a 93.00 points in her last attempt.
American Hanna Faulhaber, who won the event at this year's World Championships, put herself out of the contention for a top finish after an error-hit third run, and ranked second with 82.25 points, followed by Canada's Amy Fraser. China's Li Fanghui and Zhang Kexin finished seventh and eighth, respectively.
Meanwhile, China's Su Yiming, who also won gold at the Beijing Winter Olympics, led the qualifying round in the FIS Snowboard Big Air World Cup Edmonto leg with a total score of 173.00 points, a week after he won the Beijing leg.