Eileen Gu wins debut of freeski big air at 2022 Winter Olympics

The debut of women’s freeski big air at the 2022 Winter Olympics featured perhaps the best showing of women’s freeskiing in history.

The first hint of what was going to be unleashed came in the first run when Eileen Gu – who was born in San Francisco but represents China – landed a massive 1440.

But she wasn’t done impressing. And neither were her competitors.

In freeski big air, athletes are ranked based on their two best scores in three runs, though the two scoring runs must be different tricks.

After Gu, Tess Ledeux – the reigning X Games champion in both freeski big air and slopestyle – landed a double cork 1620 for the second time in her career. That’s four-and-a-half rotations, the most rotations ever seen in women’s freeskiing.

In the second run, Switzerland’s Mathilde Gremaud elevated the gauntlet with a huge double cork 1440.

At the end of two runs, Gu found herself in bronze-medal position with nothing to lose and Ledeux and Gremaud still to come.

“I was thinking, ‘Should I improve on my previous one and go for the silver, or should I whip out this random trick I’d never done before and go for gold?” Gu recounted. “I wanted to represent myself and this competitive style that I really take pride in – and that desire to push myself and push the sport.”

So Gu attempted her own double cork 1620 – for her first time ever in competition – and stomped it.

“I am not crying, I am definitely not crying,” she said in the finish area while waiting for her scores to come down.

Eileen Gu can't believe it!

A double cork 1620 on her final run! #WinterOlympics