Mathilde Gremaud competed in her second consecutive Winter Olympics, defeating Irene Gu in the women’s blue ribbon freeski event.

Switzerland’s Mathilde Gremaud defends her Olympic title in slopestyle freestyle skiing at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games in the Italian Alpine town of Livigno.

China’s Gu Ailing, who was hoping to convert her silver medal at the 2022 Beijing Olympics into gold, finished second on Monday after falling at the start of her last event.

Canada’s Megan Oldham, 24, took the final step on the podium despite a serious crash in the second round.

Gremaud had earned herself a belated birthday present, having already reached a high standard on her first run, with three spectacular runs of her own, the last of which she draped like a cape with the Swiss flag draped around her, already ensuring herself a gold medal.

Gremo unveils new trick

In clear, sunny weather at the high-altitude ski resort near the Swiss border, Gremaud kicked off the finals with an elite-level trick called the Nose Butter Double Cork 1260 – the first time it was performed by a woman.

In this trick, the skier presses the tip of the ski to initiate a spin on takeoff and then performs a double cork 1260, which is two different off-axis inversions combined with three half-full horizontal spins.

Known for her variety of tricks on the slopes, the Swiss champion turned to highly technical tricks before performing a stunning acrobatic jump in the second round that ultimately earned her a top score of 86.96, just ahead of Gu’s first-round score of 86.58.

Despite a nasty crash in round two, Oldham improved in round three, flying down the rails and landing a conservative but still very clever jump at the end that earned her a score of 76.46.

At the end of the competition and at the awards ceremony, the crowd was painted in different shades of red and the flags of the three winning countries – Switzerland, China and Canada – flew in the air to loud music and cheers. The medal was presented by former British Olympic equestrian Princess Anne.

Competition is fierce

Double Olympic champion Gu, 22, set the bar high in the first round with big tricks on the rails and stunning jumps, adding flair to all her tricks and quickly taking first place.

After a poor second run in which she tripped and fell on the rails at the start of the beautifully carved piste, Gu knew she needed something special in her final run to take the title from Gremo. But she fell almost immediately into the snow, ending her hopes of taking back the title in the competition.

The U.S.-born Gu, who represents her native China at the Olympics, said last week she had nothing left to prove after winning two gold medals and a silver medal in Beijing.

She will defend her aerial and halfpipe titles later in the Games.