
LIVIGNO, Italy Feb 16, (Reuters) - Mathilde Gremaud of Switzerland, one of the top medal hopefuls for Monday's freestyle skiing Winter Olympics big air final, pulled out just before the start of the race due to injury.
Gremaud and fellow Swiss finalist Anouk Andraska crashed during training and were injured, the Swiss team said in a statement. Andraska injured her wrist, Gremaud her hip.
Gremaud, 26, won gold in the freestyle slopestyle final on February 9 and came third in qualifiers for Monday's competition. She is also the two‑time reigning slopestyle World Champion.
Her withdrawal leaves Eileen Gu of China, outgoing big air Olympic champion and slopestyle silver medallist, and Meghan Oldham of Canada, who took bronze in slopestyle and topped the qualification round, as Monday's top-rated contenders.