Gu Ailing repeats as women's halfpipe gold medalist at Milano Cortina 2026

Defending champion Gu Ailing of China repeated as women's freestyle skiing halfpipe gold medalist at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics on Sunday, successfully defending the title she won at Beijing 2022.

Gu topped the podium with 94.75 points to claim China's fifth gold at this edition of the Games.

Chinese compatriot Li Fanghui joined her on the medal stand with silver after scoring 93.00, while British competitor Zoe Atkin earned bronze with 92.50 points.

Four Chinese skiers advanced to the final: Gu, Liu Yishan, Zhang Kexin and Li.

Liu was the first member of the quartet to compete, garnering 70.00 points on her first run. The second Chinese skier to drop in was Zhang, who slipped and picked up just 24.25 points.

Gu was up next, but failed to complete her routine, compiling a mere 30.00 points.

China's final skier, Li, did the best in the first round with 81.25 points, ranking third among the 11 contestants behind Canada's Amy Fraser (85.00) and Atkin (90.50).

Many contenders failed to do better in the second round, but Gu recovered in emphatic fashion, delivering an excellent effort that drew 94.00 points and lifted her to the top of the standings.

Li soon joined Gu with 91.50 points, sitting 2.50 behind the reigning champion.

Liu tallied 71.75 on her third attempt, with that final mark proving to be her best, while Zhang closed out her performance with 83.25 points.

Gu further improved her leading score to 94.75 points on her final run, remaining on top to cement her achievement as a back-to-back women's halfpipe gold medalist.

Li bumped her final score to 93.00, adding China's fourth silver and 15th overall medal at Milano Cortina 2026.