Olympics-Freestyle skiing-Swiss Gremaud glides to slopestyle gold again after China's Gu tumbles

By Giulia Segreti and Lisa Richwine

LIVIGNO, Italy, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Switzerland's Mathilde Gremaud held on to her Olympic title in slopestyle freestyle skiing on Monday, in a gripping contest in the Italian Alpine town of Livigno at the Milano Cortina Olympics.

China's Eileen Gu, who had been hoping to convert her Beijing 2022 silver medal into gold this time, came in second after tumbling at the start of her third and final run.

Canada's Megan Oldham, 24, took the bottom step of the podium - despite a big crash on her second run.

Earning herself a day-late birthday present, Gremaud skied well above the already very high bar set by Gu from the start, with three spectacular runs of her own, wearing the Swiss flag like a cape as she came down the last time having already ensured herself the gold medal.

ELITE TRICKS

On a crisp and sunny day in the high-altitude ski resort near the Swiss border, Gremaud kicked off the final by successfully landing - for the first time in competition by a woman - an elite level trick called the "nose butter double cork 1260".

In this trick the skier presses the tips of their skis together on takeoff to start the spin and then performs a double cork 1260 - two distinct off-axis, inverted flips combined with 3-1/2 full horizontal rotations.

"There was a part of me that was defending my gold medal from four years ago, but there was a bigger part of me that was trying to show what I believe I was capable of," Gremaud said.

Known for her variety of tricks on the slope, the Swiss champion, who turned 26 on Sunday, veered towards the very technical ones followed by breathtaking acrobatic jumps in her second run, earning her the eventual highest score overall of 86.96, just pipping Gu's first-run score of 86.58.

"That's the best run I have ever done," she said.

Despite the big crash on her second run, Oldham picked up in the third run, soaring through the rails and performing conservative yet still very acrobatic jumps at the end, winning her a score of 76.46.

"After Beijing I've just been seeking redemption," Oldham said, referring to her fourth-place finish in big air and missing the slopestyle finals by one spot at the 2022 Winter Games.

At the end of the race and during the prize-giving ceremony, the crowd was painted in different hues of red as the flags of the three winning countries were waved in the air to the beat of loud music and cheering. The medals were handed out by Britain's Princess Anne, a former Olympic equestrian.

HIGH COMPETITION

Double Olympic champion Gu, 22, set the bar high on the first run with big tricks on the rails and stunning jumps, adding flair to all of them and putting herself in first place early on.

After a poor second run when she stumbled on the rails at the top of the beautifully sculpted piste, Gu knew she would need something special on her final run to grab the title away from Gremaud. But she tumbled into the snow almost immediately, ending her hopes of reclaiming the top spot.

"That was my best skiing, so I really am so happy with putting it all out there on the line today," Gu said, adding she was more motivated than ever and looking forward to the next competitions.

"I think more than anything, the hardest part has been staying consistent all these years," she added.

American-born Gu, who represents her mother's country of China at the Olympics, also added that "sometimes it feels like I'm carrying the weight of two countries on my shoulders".

She will be defending her big air and halfpipe titles later in the Games.