Reference News website, February 18 report: According to AFP, on February 16, Chinese freestyle skier Eileen Gu missed the gold medal again for the second time at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.

Gu's goal was to defend her title in the women's big air event, one of the two gold medals she won at the Beijing Winter Olympics four years ago.

Swiss athlete Mathilde Gremaud withdrew due to injury, which increased Gu's chances of winning the gold. Gremaud had previously defeated Gu in the women's slopestyle event at this Winter Games and won the championship, with Gu taking the silver.

However, Gu faced a well-performing Canadian athlete Megan Oldham. The latter gave it her all at the Livigno Snow Park and eventually won the gold.

Gu performed poorly in her second jump, facing the danger of missing the podium, but she made a strong comeback, scoring 89.00 points in her final jump and ultimately winning the silver medal.

Oldham secured the victory with more fluid movements, achieving a total score of 180.75, narrowly beating Gu (179.00). Italian athlete Flora Tabanelli took the bronze. "It feels amazing," Oldham said, "I haven't quite come to terms with it yet. It's a dream come true."

According to AFP on February 16, after once again missing the chance to win a gold medal at the Winter Games, Chinese freestyle skiing star Eileen Gu dismissed speculation that she felt disappointed, stating that she was "accomplishing something unprecedented."

Gu had originally aimed for three golds at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, but failed to reach the top in both the women's slopestyle and big air events.

This 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic gold medalist still had one opportunity to win a gold medal—the women's halfpipe competition.

In the women's big air final held in Livigno, Gu won a silver medal, finishing behind Canadian athlete Megan Oldham. However, Gu still became the female freestyle skier with the most Winter Olympic medals, with a total of five medals.

When asked by reporters how she would evaluate the two events completed—whether as two silvers or missed two golds—she firmly responded, "I am the female freestyle skier with the most Winter Olympic medals. That is the answer. How should I say it? Winning a medal at the Olympics is an experience that changes the life of every athlete."

She said, "The difficulty of these five medals has increased exponentially because each medal was difficult for me, while the expectations from the outside world have continued to rise."

After winning the gold medal in the women's big air event at the Beijing Winter Olympics, Gu had not competed in the big air event again before this Winter Games.

This Chinese athlete said that winning her fifth Winter Olympic medal just before the arrival of the Chinese Lunar New Year was a great honor.

At 22, Gu also said that competing in Italy was "completely different" from competing at home in Beijing four years ago.

Gu said, "At the Beijing Winter Olympics, I felt that millions of people were watching me, and it was no joke. It was a wonderful experience that pushed me to my peak state. It allowed me to achieve what seemed impossible... but now, this power has become even stronger because I know that I'm here out of desire, not just because it was my default option."

She said, "I've said that if I chose to retire, I could spend the rest of my life with these achievements. But I didn't, because I love this sport more than ever, and I love it a little bit more every day."

The Olympic website reported on February 17 that early on February 17 Beijing time, the women's big air event in freestyle skiing at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics saw a fierce battle in Livigno.

Chinese athlete Liu Mengting was the third to compete, choosing a high-difficulty 1440-degree move, but there was a slight mistake in landing, earning only 43 points.

After a first jump mistake, Liu Mengting continued to challenge herself in the second round, choosing the same 1440-degree move as the first round and successfully landing it, earning a high score of 90 points.

In the final round, Liu Mengting chose a 1440-degree move in another direction, but lost stability upon landing, finally finishing with a total score of 166 points and taking seventh place. However, for Liu Mengting, who was participating in the Winter Olympics for the first time, completing two high-quality moves after the first mistake was already remarkable. (Translated by Yang Xuelai, Zhao Feifei)

Original: toutiao.com/article/7608114648235115034/

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