02/21/26 12:36:00
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02/21 12:34 CST Women's Olympic freeski halfpipe final postponed a day because
of heavy snow in the Italian Alps
Women's Olympic freeski halfpipe final postponed a day because of heavy snow in
the Italian Alps
By JOSEPH WILSON
Associated Press
LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) --- The women's Olympic freeski halfpipe final at the Milan
Cortina Games will be held on Sunday, a day later than originally scheduled
because of heavy snow in the Italian Alps.
The postponement of Saturday's race is the latest winter weather hiccup to
impact the program.
Defending champion Eileen Gu and the rest of the field will now have to wait
until 10:40 a.m. local time Sunday to vie for the last medals up for grabs in
Livigno, a ski town in a mountain valley near the Swiss border that has been
home to the freeski and snowboarding events.
The International Ski and Snowboard Federation said the snow that accumulated
on the halfpipe from constant flurries on Saturday made it impossible "to
ensure a safe and fair competition for all athletes."
The final had been scheduled for 7:30 p.m. local time on Saturday. Officials
then pushed that back to 9:00 p.m. before saying it was off.
Snowstorms this week have caused delays and events to be reshuffled twice
already in Livigno.
Earlier Saturday, the men's skicross event was held amid flurries, and the
freeskiers said the snow had made the course slow and extra demanding.
Forty-year-old bronze medalist Alex Fiva called the skicross final "my toughest
race ever" because of the conditions.
The women's halfpipe final is the final event of the action sports events at
the 2026 Games, which conclude on Sunday.
The final will feature Gu, the defending champion, going for her third medal of
this year's Games and her sixth in as many career Olympic events.
The 22-year-old Gu, who was born in the United States and competes for China,
has won two silvers in Italy, finishing second in both slopestyle and big air.
Four years ago, Gu became the first freestyle skier to win three medals in a
single Olympics after she won gold in halfpipe and big air and silver in
slopestyle at the 2022 Beijing Games.
Trying to stop her from repeating as the halfpipe champion will be Amy Fraser
of Canada, the only skier to beat Gu in a major contest since she won Olympic
gold four years ago. Zoe Atkin, an American-born skier who competes for
Britain, is also eyeing the podium after she finished first in Thursday's
qualifying.
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AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
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