Chinese freestyle skiing star Gu Ailing added another historic chapter to her Olympic journey at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games, securing her second consecutive silver medal in women's slopestyle on Monday. The 22-year-old narrowly missed gold after a dramatic final-round showdown with Switzerland's Mathilde Gremaud, who repeated her 2022 Beijing victory over the crowd favorite.
Gu opened strong with an 86.58-point technical run, briefly overtaking Gremaud's initial 83.60. However, a minor rail misstep in her second attempt kept her score static while the Swiss champion surged ahead with an improved 86.96. The final run saw Gu push for podium-topping difficulty but resulted in a fall, leaving her with 1.65 points as Gremaud sealed her back-to-back Olympic titles.
The outcome echoes Gu's 2022 silver finish, reinforcing one of winter sports' most compelling rivalries. Despite the repeat result, the Stanford graduate remains China's most decorated freestyle skier and a key figure in Asia's growing winter sports influence.
