Mathilde Gremaud Narrowly Defeats Eileen Gu in Olympic Slopestyle Showdown

Mathilde Gremaud, of Switzerland, has once again held off Eileen Gu, the Chinese freeskier she challenged for gold in the women’s Olympic slopestyle finals on Monday.

It came down to the wire. 

Across three runs, Gremaud narrowly eked out a 0.38 lead on the slopestyle course, which includes a range of rails and jumps.

During Gu’s final run, her last shot at usurping Gremaud, she slipped up in the rail section, giving Gremaud the gold. The Swiss skier celebrated with a victory lap, wearing her country’s flag like a cap as she cruised down the course.

That made the event similar to the slopestyle competition in the 2022 Beijing Games, when Gremaud managed another gold medal, earning just a few more points than Gu.

Tap or click below to watch Gremaud’s winning run.

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Gremaud’s win came from an outstanding run. She laced a clean rail section, then launched three huge jumps in a row. First, she spun 1080 degrees. Then, she spun 1260 degrees twice.

“Freestyle skiing is going places. Eileen and Megan, they really bring out the best of me when there’s nerves and there’s a battle. In my position, I wanted to fight again and I was a gold medallist so I still wanted to keep the gold medal for another four years,” Gremaud said, according to The Athletic, referring to the women she shared the podium with, Gu and Canada’s Megan Oldham.

“I think a lot of girls also landed the best run they’ve done in competition. We’ve got a bright future in our sport,” she added.

Gu was thinking similarly after her silver medal finish. She took to social media, thanking Gremaud and Oldham. 

“It is an honor and a pleasure to push the sport alongside you all,” she concluded.

NBC analyst and freeskiing legend Tom Wallisch, among others, shared in the revelry, saying that it was the most progressive women’s contest they’d seen, The Associated Press reported. Wallisch also told TIME that Gremaud’s performance was “the most technical jump run ever done by a freeskiing woman.”

The day was, ultimately, for the Swiss. But as the Olympics continue, Gu—one of the best known athletes at the Games—will have more shots at storybook moments.

During the 2022 Winter Olympics, she earned a medal in all three of the freeskiing disciplines: slopestyle, halfpipe, and big air. With her latest silver, she’s no longer on track to earn a trio of gold medals. 

Still, Gu could again walk away with three pieces of Olympic hardware, as she’s scheduled to appear in big air and halfpipe.

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