Chinese skier Eileen Gu wins her 2nd Winter Olympic gold

Chinese skier Eileen Gu, 18, won her second gold medal at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics on Friday.

With the victory in the women’s halfpipe final, the athlete, who was born in the United States, won her third medal in this edition of the Games (she also has a silver) and became the first competitor to climb the podium three times in freestyle skiing in a same edition of the event.

Eileen got a score right on the first descent to secure the title. The 93.25, four points above Cassie Sharpe, champion in PeyongChang-2018, put her in the lead.

In the second descent, the Chinese improved her performance and recorded a 95.25. The opponents were not able to overcome their scores, and even before the third and final run, she was already celebrating her triumph. His final session was just protocol.

“I’m a three-time medalist. This is crazy,” Eileen Gu said after the race.

In addition to gold in the halfpipe, she became champion in Big Air and took silver in slopestyle.

“It was two weeks of the most intense ups and downs I’ve ever experienced. It changed my life forever. The second I landed from the last 16 [manobra com o giro de 1620 graus] I knew she would never be the same again.”

Next to her on the podium were Canadians Cassie Sharp, with silver, and Rachael Karker, with bronze.

Without Valieva, IOC allows podium in figure skating

This Friday morning, athletes Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova, from the Russian Olympic Committee, and Kaori Sakamoto, from Japan, were able to take the podium and receive medals for their performances in the women’s figure skating final.

The podium was only celebrated because the Russian Kamila Valieva, investigated for doping, did not finish in the first three places – she was in fourth place.

Valieva suffered two falls in the decision of the sport and left the skating rink crying.

IOC (International Olympic Committee) president Thomas Bach said he was uncomfortable with what he considered a lack of support for the 15-year-old Russian athlete.

“I was very upset yesterday (Thursday, 17) when I watched the competition on television. I saw how high the pressure must have been on her. That pressure is beyond my imagination. Particularly for a 15-year-old girl to see her fighting on the ice, seeing how she tries to pull herself together again and finish her show. Maybe she would rather leave the ice and leave the story behind,” said Bach.

Skater becomes 1st non-binary to compete in Winter Games

Timothy LeDuc, from the United States, made history this Friday in Beijing, becoming the first publicly non-binary athlete to compete in an edition of the Winter Games.

Le Duc, who revealed her non-binarity in 2019, competed in doubles figure skating alongside partner Ashley Cain-Gribble. Together, they guaranteed a place in the long program dispute, which takes place this Saturday (19).