Gu's season-opening comeback win a huge confidence booster

A fifth straight win on her happy hunting ground has elevated halfpipe free skier Gu Ailing's confidence for defending her Olympic title at Milano-Cortina 2026 with less than two months away from the winter sports extravaganza.

Despite a raging blizzard and finger-numbing cold on Saturday, the Yunding Snow Park in Chongli, Hebei province, has again proved a land of fortune for Gu after the two-time Olympic champion claimed the season-opening halfpipe World Cup win at the Beijing 2022 venue, getting her Olympic preparation off to a flying start.

The women's final of the 2025-26 FIS Halfpipe World Cup series' opening leg took off on Saturday morning amid blowing wind and heavy snowfall, which apparently affected the amplitude and speed of skiers sliding back and forth downward a 190-meter-long pipe slope in the discipline.

Gu, dropping last in the 10-woman final field, had her first of two runs in the final slowed down by the wind after landing a trick awkwardly midway through her routine to score 85.25 points and placed her second after Great Britain's Zoe Atkin, who stomped all her tricks to score 90.25 points in her first attempt.

With her back against the wall, Gu did not hold back in her final run, leading with her signature back-to-back cork 900 tricks, then a switch indy 720 Japan followed by a left alley-oop flatspin 540 mute before finishing with a right alley-oop flatspin 540 critical grab on the final hit to score a field-high 91.75 and seal a comeback win.

"That was not easy. I've been struggling with speed all of the training," said Gu, who won her second Olympic gold medal in halfpipe at the same venue at Beijing 2022.

The 22-year-old freeski sensation won her first Olympic gold in another high-flying discipline - big air - at west Beijing's Shougang Industrial Park a week before her halfpipe win.

"I actually almost didn't compete because I was worried I wouldn't be able to do my tricks at the amplitude I was at. That was the first full run that I've landed all day. It was such a mental battle," said Gu, who's now landed three consecutive halfpipe World Cup wins at the Yunding Snow Park.

The 22-year-old fan favorite also won the inaugural edition of The Snow League's halfpipe event at Yunding last week.

Australia's Indra Brown finished third behind runner-up Atkin on her 82-point first run to secure her first World Cup podium finish in what was the 15-year-old's Cup debut in Chongli.

With the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics fast approaching, Gu, who'd suffered multiple injuries that took a toll on her consistency during the 2024-25 season, hailed her tough comeback win as a needed confidence boost.

"I've been training so much, I've been working so hard and every single time I stay the extra hour, do the extra run, it's proof to myself," said Gu, who also won a silver medal at Beijing 2022 in slope style.

"It's evidence to myself that I'm a winner and I deserve to win. So just building back confidence, slowly."

China's two other final skiers Zhang Kexin and Li Fanghui finished at fifth and ninth, respectively, with their performance affected by the challenging weather conditions as well.

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn