Defending Olympic champion Eileen Gu took silver in freeski big air at the Milan Cortina Games as Canada’s Megan Oldham won the gold medal on Monday night.
Oldham topped the 10-woman final with a combined score of 180.75 points from two jumps. Gu was next with 179. Italy’s Flora Tabanelli took bronze, four months after she tore an ACL.
This is the second medal for the 24-year-old Oldham at these Winter Games. She won bronze in slopestyle last week.
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In 2022, Gu became the first freestyle skier to win three medals in a single Games after taking gold in big air and halfpipe and silver in slopestyle at age 18.
Gu, who was born in the United States but competes for her mother’s native China, has collected five medals in two Olympic appearances. She also won silver in slopestyle last week, and she has a chance at a sixth medal on Saturday, when she tries to defend her halfpipe gold.
Gu hadn’t competed in a big air contest since triumphing at the Beijing Games, concentrating on her other events. But there are enough similarities between big air and slopestyle that she found her rhythm quickly.
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Oldham locked up gold with her first two jumps. She had an inconsequential fall on her third jump, the last of the final, which became a victory lap.
Oldham and Gu embraced before they stepped onto the medal podium.
The initial final field of 12 was reduced by two after Mathilde Gremaud and Anouk Andraska, both of Switzerland, got hurt practicing jumps before the final. Gremaud, who defended her slopestyle gold last week, hurt her hip and needed to be stretchered off. Andraska hurt her wrist.
In big air, skiers get three jumps and must land two. Their scores include points for difficulty and execution.
Monday’s final was delayed by more than an hour because of a snowstorm.