Eileen Gu wins silver medal in women’s skiing, her 2nd medal in Beijing – Orange County Register

By PAT GRAHAM Writer AP Sports

ZHANGJIAKOU, China – In a post-event interview, Eileen Gu was praised for winning “gold” in her final run.

“Silver,” she always politely corrected. “Don’t make fun of me like that.”

Also according to the thinnest margin.

Prominent US-born freestyle skier representing China finished second with her last entry in the Olympic women’s freestyle on Tuesday (Monday evening Pacific time). ). It continues to live on for the 18-year-old from San Francisco to become the first action sports athlete to win three medals at the same Winter Olympics.

Her bid for another gold medal was thwarted by Mathilde Gremaud. The skier from Switzerland finished the event just 0.33 with a sensational second run. Estonia’s Kelly Sildaru won bronze on a cold and murky day with temperatures hovering around minus 5 degrees.

“So very special,” Gu said of earning silver. “It really went down the last time – again.”

Just like last week, when she earned gold in the air by using a clutch on her last try.

“I don’t know why I keep doing that to myself,” Gu said. “It doesn’t make it easy for myself. It certainly doesn’t make it easy for my trainers. My mother has a heart attack every day. It’s certainly not the easiest. But I’m glad I was able to push through and turn that pressure into fuel.”

Sitting in eighth place after two runs, Gu used a strong final performance to step onto the podium. Her run including a 900 double cork with a Buick grab at the end impressed the judges and earned her a score of 86.23. However, she couldn’t catch up to Gremaud, who scored 86.56 in her second run.

It was a medal upgrade for Gremaud, who won silver at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics and won bronze in last week’s grand slam in Beijing. She also finished second at the Winter X Games last month.

Those are two medals for Gu, who is competing for her mother’s hometown of China. She is also entering the semi-finals starting with a qualifier on Thursday (Wednesday PT).

“My goal when it comes to the Olympics is to have a gold medal and an extra podium in another event,” Gu said. “I’ve hit that goal and I’m entering my strongest event (second half).”