LIVIGNO, Italy — Mathilde Gremaud has successfully defended her Olympic freeski slopestyle title and denied Eileen Gu a gold medal for a second straight Winter Games.
Gremaud won Monday's final with a score of 86.96 from her best of three jumps, while Gu again took silver behind her Swiss rival with a best jump of 86.58.
Gu needed a huge score on her final run when she had one last chance to better Gremaud, but that run barely lasted. Gu skittered off the first rail and toppled to her side, dashing her title hopes.
Knowing she had locked up the gold after Gu fell, Gremaud tied a Swiss flag around her neck and wore it like a cape as she cruised down the course on her victory lap. After coming off the course, she embraced her Swiss teammates and ecstatic supporters.
Gremaud, who turned 26 the day before the final, has now beaten Gu twice in Olympic finals by the slightest of margins: 0.33 points in 2022, and 0.38 in 2026.
Canada's Megan Oldham claimed bronze.
Gu was undone by the same rail where she fell during Saturday's qualifying, which was topped by Gremaud. In qualifying, Gu's first jump ended in mere seconds when she fell off the rail. And two days later, on her last jump, it was the same result: Gu tumbling into the snow.
Gu, who was born in America but competes for China, became a global star at the 2022 Beijing Games, where she won three medals, including gold in freeski halfpipe and big air. She will now turn to defending her titles at these Games.
Gremaud's medal chest includes a silver in slopestyle from the 2018 Winter Games and a bronze in big air from 2022. She is also a two-time world champion in slopestyle in 2025 and 2023, among other titles.
In slopestyle, skiers perform acrobatic tricks while skiing over rails and jumps that are judged for difficulty and execution. In the final, the best score of the three jumps counts.
