Gremaud leads YOG graduate sweep of slopestyle podium

Mathilde Gremaud, Ailing (Eileen) Gu and Kelly Sildaru all share something in common. Not only are they all medallists in the women’s freestyle skiing slopestyle event at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, but they also all started their Olympic careers at the Youth Olympic Games (YOG).

Switzerland’s Gremaud claimed gold in Beijing thanks to a show-stopping second run that earned 86.56 points from the judges. The 22-year-old, who earlier won big air bronze in Beijing to go with the slopestyle silver she won at PyeongChang 2018, had only narrowly made it into the final, qualifying in 12th place after struggling with her runs.

“It was a crazy day yesterday; I barely made it to finals,” she said. “But today was a new day. I woke up with good energy, positivity and I was excited to ski. I now have a complete set of the three medals, so that’s really exciting; I’m really stoked. It’s just insane. I dreamed of this growing up. There are no words.”

Gremaud’s journey to the top of the Olympic podium began at the Winter YOG Lillehammer 2016, where she placed sixth in slopestyle. Two years later, she was the silver medallist in PyeongChang and has previously spoken about the benefits of competing on the YOG stage.

“It was my first Olympic experience,” she said of her time in Lillehammer. “The YOG experience was like an awakening.”

Similarly, Gu and Sildaru both gained early experience of the Olympic stage before competing in Beijing, having gone head-to-head in slopestyle at the Winter YOG Lausanne 2020.

“Before I went to the Youth Olympic Games, I didn't really know what to expect from the Olympics,” said Sildaru, who won gold ahead of Gu in Lausanne. “It was just kind of like a warm-up for me when I went to the Youth