By Mari Saito and Winni Zhou
ZHANGJIAKOU, China (Reuters) -China’s Eileen Gu cruised to victory in the women’s freestyle skiing halfpipe final on Friday, claiming her second gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.
Gu, who competed in the U.S. team when she was younger but switched to compete for China in 2019, was in full command of the contest from the start, soaring above the pipe higher than any other skier as she nailed back-to-back 900s with advanced mid-air grabs.
Fans began chanting Gu’s name even before the 18-year-old dropped into the course at the Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou.
A large crowd of Team China staff bundled up in white and red puffer jackets unfurled the national flag at the bottom of the halfpipe, while others waved blue placards bearing Gu’s name in Chinese.
Gu waved to the camera and wiped away a tear after she scored 95.25 in her second monster run, which became her best score of the day.
Canada’s Cassie Sharpe took silver with her highest score of 90.75, while fellow Canadian Rachael Karker took bronze with 87.75.
(Reporting by Mari Saito, Winni Zhou and Philip O’Connor; Editing by Michael Perry and Himani Sarkar)
