China's Eileen Gu Ailing (center) celebrates her victory, between second-place finisher Amy Fraser (left) of Canada, and third-place finisher Zoe Atkin of Britain, at the World Cup women's freeski halfpipe event in Calgary, Alberta, Feb 15, 2024. (PHOTO / THE CANADIAN PRESS VIA AP)
VANCOUVER - Chinese freeskier Eileen Gu Ailing clinched the women's halfpipe event at the FIS Freeski World Cup stop in Calgary, Canada on Thursday.
This victory marked Gu's 13th gold medal in Freeski World Cup events, with seven of them earned in Calgary.
"I love Calgary, I'm seven-for-seven here," said the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics champion.
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"I actually won my first halfpipe World Cup ever here exactly four years ago when I was 16. This is a pretty special place for me. I love it. Let's keep it going. We have another one on Saturday," she added.
China's Eileen Gu Ailing competes during the World Cup women's freeski halfpipe event in Calgary, Alberta, Feb 15, 2024. (PHOTO / THE CANADIAN PRESS VIA AP)
Thursday's competition saw Gu Ailing secured the championship with a final score of 93.25 points, followed closely by Canadian Amy Fraser with a score of 89.25 points. The third place went to Britain's Zoe Atkin, who scored 88.00 points.
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The Calgary stop holds a unique "back-to-back" events. In 2020, Gu won her first halfpipe World Cup gold in Calgary and added another slopestyle gold the following day.
China's Eileen Gu Ailing competes during the World Cup women's freeski halfpipe event in Calgary, Alberta, Feb 15, 2024. (PHOTO / THE CANADIAN PRESS VIA AP)
Since the 2021-2022 season, the Calgary stop has featured two halfpipe competitions consecutively within a few days. With this latest triumph, Gu Ailing remains undefeated in any of those competitions.