China's second medal arrives! Eileen Gu wins silver, pushing the Winter Olympics gold medal standings ahead of South Korea to 11th place

On February 9th Beijing time, the women's freestyle skiing slopestyle final at the Milan Winter Olympics began. Following three thrilling rounds, China’s trio missed out on gold. Eileen Gu was edged out by the reigning Swiss champion Sarah Höfflin, taking silver with a score of 86.58, as Höfflin completed a strong title defense with 86.96 points, giving Switzerland its second gold medal in this event!

This freestyle skiing slopestyle event was a key gold medal opportunity for the Chinese team. Our three athletes advanced from the qualifiers to the final, aiming for the top spot. However, the challenge was tough, mainly relying on Eileen Gu’s performance, as the other two were not seen as medal contenders and were more focused on participation. In the qualifiers, Gu made a remarkable comeback with a flawless second run to secure second place and qualify for the final, while defending champion Höfflin took first. Since this event is not Gu’s strongest, only an extraordinary performance could overcome Höfflin!

As the competition began, athletes took turns performing in order. Eileen Gu, performing second to last, executed her moves smoothly and seamlessly, with almost no mistakes, scoring 86.58 to temporarily lead ahead of the defending champion. However, in the second round, Höfflin displayed her immense strength, delivering a flawless run with a high score of 86.96, overtaking Gu and setting up a thrilling showdown between the two in the final round!

This put pressure on Gu, and in the third round, performing second to last again, she succumbed to the stress and made a mistake, falling and ending her chance for gold early. Meanwhile, the already crowned champion Höfflin casually completed her final run, wrapping up the competition with ease!

Thus, Höfflin successfully defended her title with commanding strength, almost unbelievably dominant. Eileen Gu narrowly missed the top spot, winning silver for the second consecutive Winter Olympics in this event. This silver medal is China’s first silver and second overall medal at these Winter Games. Thanks to this medal, China climbed two places in the rankings, moving from 13th to 11th, surpassing rival South Korea—a result worthy of celebration!

Written by / Sports Novels