Olympic medals in women’s freeskiing slopestyle were awarded on Monday night in the United States (Tuesday morning in Beijing). Switzerland’s Mathilde Gremaud claimed gold, improving on her silver medal in this event from four years ago and picking up her second medal of these 2022 Winter Olympics. Eileen Gu also won her second medal in Beijing, a silver. And Estonia’s Kelly Sildaru earned the bronze, her nation’s first Winter Olympic medal in a sport other than cross-country skiing.
See below for On Her Turf’s preview of the women’s slopestyle final, as well as live updates and results as competition unfolded.
Women’s Freeski Slopestyle Final – Live Updates:
8:32pm ET: And we are underway with the first run of the women’s ski slopestyle final. Athletes go in reverse order of their qualifying round scores. Best score counts.
8:38pm ET: France’s Tess Ledeux – who claimed silver in big air earlier at these 2022 Beijing Winter Games – throws down a big double cork. And that certainly isn’t the hardest trick we’ll see from Ledeux today. She moves into first with a score of 72.91.
8:46pm ET: Anastasia Tatalina, representing the Russian Olympic Committee, goes down on the final jump after an otherwise strong run.
8:48pm ET: Team USA’s Maggie Voisin on course for her first run, which ends up being a wash. After a strong rails section, she catches an edge on the first jump and bails out.
8:52pm ET: China’s Eileen Gu sends it in her first run. Following a strong rails section, she lands both a double cork 1080 and cork 900 with a double grab. But a couple of bobbles hurt her score – 69.90 – she moves into second behind Ledeux.
8:55pm ET: Kelly Sildaru of Estonia with a very clean run. She moves into first with a score of 82.06.
Video of Kelly Sildaru’s first run in the women’s freeski slopestyle final:
19-year-old Kelly Sildaru of Estonia sits in first place after her first run in the slopestyle final 💥
📺: @NBC & @peacockTV | #WinterOlympics pic.twitter.com/K5B6ElqTEE
— On Her Turf (@OnHerTurf) February 15, 2022
8:57pm ET: After the first run, the top three are Kelly Sildaru, Tess Ledeux, and Eileen Gu.
9:00pm ET: Curious how cold it is at Genting Snow Park today? Negative 7 degrees Fahrenheit. Yikes.
9:02pm ET: Time for run #2… After a binding issue caused a rough first run – she literally scored 1.10 points (out of 100) – Switzerland’s Mathilde Gremaud does more than just bounce back. Gremaud, the big air bronze medalist from earlier in these Games, moves into gold-medal position with a score of 86.56.
9:07pm ET: Oof. Tess Ledeux goes down on the first jump (aka “twisted sisters”). She remains in bronze-medal position – for now – thanks to her first run score.
9:17pm ET: Wow. American Maggie Voisin with a big run that moves her into third place. Voisin, a 23-year-old who hails from Whitefish, Montana, is aiming for her first Olympic medal. Voisin earned a spot on the 2014 U.S. Olympic team at age 15, where she was poised to become the youngest U.S. winter Olympian since 1972, but she had to withdraw from the Games after she fractured her right fibula during a training run. Four years ago, in her official Olympic debut, she placed fourth in this event. She’s overcome a lot off the snow, too, including the loss of her older brother Michael in January 2021.
Video of Maggie Voisin’s strong second run in the Olympic slopestyle final:
Team USA's Maggie Voisin PUTS ONE DOWN 😤
Her second run moves her into third place with a 74.28 👏
📺: @NBC & @peacockTV | #WinterOlympics pic.twitter.com/7cQRgQvRa3
— On Her Turf (@OnHerTurf) February 15, 2022
9:20pm ET: And Eileen Gu goes down on the third rail feature. Currently in seventh, she’ll need to rely on her third run.
9:25pm ET: Wow. Kelly Sildaru with a very strong run until the final jump. She loses a ski, but still manages to land on her feet? What? Olympians, they’re built different. She’s still in silver-medal position, though, thanks to her first run.
9:27pm ET: After the second run, here’s where the podium stands: Mathilde Gremaud (86.56), Kelly Sildaru (82.06), and Maggie Voisin (74.28). Because of the format (best score across all three runs counts), it is still anyone’s game.
9:32pm ET: Time for run #3… Mathilde Gremaud with a strong run…. until the final jump, when she goes down. She’s in gold-medal position for now, but she has to wait to see if that score will hold up once the final 10 competitors come through. Gremaud was in this position just yesterday, when she was the 12th and final qualifier into today’s final.
9:34pm ET: Tess Ledeux, in sixth place heading into run three, isn’t able to put down a medal-winning run. She bobbles on her first jump, and calls it there. Ledeux still will leave Beijing with a silver medal from the big air competition.
9:42pm ET: Anastasia Tatalina, representing the Russian Olympic Committee, lands a massive double cork 1440 on the final jump. Wow. The early part of her run included a couple of bobbles, though. She moves from fourth to third… switching spots with Maggie Voisin.
9:46pm ET: Speaking of… Maggie Voisin with a good run, but a touch on her first jump hurts her. She stays in fourth, the same position she finished in four years ago in PyeongChang.
9:49pm ET: Eileen Gu with a good final run, solid on both the rails and jumps. She moves into silver-medal position with a score of 86.23.
9:52pm ET: If you’re confused about the scoring, a quick refresher: in slopestyle, athletes are evaluated based on their technical difficulty, as well as their style and overall impression. It’s not just about big jumps, but also about skiing stylishly and with ease. Trick judges score athletes for their technical ability (60% of the total score) and overall judges rate overall impression (40% of the score). Scores range from 0 to 100 points.
9:54pm ET: It’s down to Kelly Sildaru… She’s guaranteed bronze, but can improve on that with a top score.
9:56pm ET: Wow. Kelly Sildaru with a statement run. Back-to-back 1080s on the final two jumps, but it’s not enough. She’ll finish with bronze thanks to her first run score.
10:00pm ET: The podium is official: Switzerland’s Mathilde Gremaud claims gold, improving on her silver medal in this event from four years ago. Eileen Gu wins the silver, also her second medal of these 2022 Winter Olympics. And Kelly Sildaru picks up the bronze. That marks Estonia’s first ever medal at the Winter Olympics in a sport other than cross-country skiing. Pretty impressive given that the nation doesn’t have any mountains.
10:12pm ET: It’s almost time for the women’s downhill in alpine skiing. After a 30-minute wind delay, the race is slated to begin at 10:30pm ET. You can follow along for live updates here.
What is slopestyle skiing?
In slopestyle, skiers perform a variety of tricks as they move through a course that includes rails, boxed, bumps, and jumps. Athletes are evaluated based on their technical difficulty, as well as their style. Trick judges score athletes for their technical ability (60% of the total score) and overall judges rate overall impression (40% of the score). Scores range from 0 to 100 points.
Preview – Women’s Freeskiing Slopestyle at the 2022 Winter Olympics:
Earlier this week, the first ever Olympic medals in women’s freeski big air were awarded, with China’s Eileen Gu claiming gold, France’s Tess Ledeux picking up silver and Switzerland’s Mathilde Gremaud earning bronze. All three medal winners will be back in competition for today’s final in women’s freeski slopestyle.
The top qualifier heading into the final is Estonia’s Kelly Sildaru. Four years ago, Sildaru – then 15 – was expected to be a medal favorite in both freeski slopestyle and halfpipe at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. But in September 2017, she suffered a left knee injury in training that ultimately kept her from competing at the Games. Sildaru won the Youth Olympic gold in this event two years ago, and she is also a six-time X Games champion (four in slopestyle, two in superpipe).
Also notable is the fact that Sildaru hails from Estonia, a country with no mountains. The tallest peak in the nation? Suur Munamagi, at just over 1,000 feet. The nation of 1.2 million has won just four medals in Winter Olympic history, all in cross-country skiing.
Gu, who posted the third highest score in qualifying, is also expected to be a big threat. The 18-year-old Gu – who was born in San Francisco and represents China – enters the final as the reigning world champion. She also won X Games gold in this event last year.
One American will compete in the final: Maggie Voisin. Her U.S. teammate Marin Hamill, also qualified for the final, but will not compete due to an injury she sustained in qualifying. Per U.S. Ski and Snowboard, Hamill “has a right leg injury and will return to the U.S. for further evaluation and care.”
MORE WINTER OLYMPICS: In alpine skiing, women compete, but that’s about it
Freeski Slopestyle – Olympic Competition Format:
The top 12 skiers from qualifying advanced. In the final, competitors will start in reverse order of their qualifying score; so Kelly Sildaru, as the top qualifier, will go last.
Each athlete will have three runs, with their best score counting towards the final standings.
MORE WINTER OLYMPICS: Winter Olympics: Women’s Downhill – Preview and Live Updates
Start List:
17 – CAN – Olivia ASSELIN
14 – GBR – Katie SUMMERHAYES
1 – FRA – Tess LEDEUX
18 – ITA – Silvia BERTAGNA
9 – GBR – Kirsty MUIR
16 – ROC – Anastasia TATALINA
10 – USA – Maggie VOISIN
3 – CHN – Eileen (Ailing) GU
5 – NOR – Johanne KILLI
2 – EST – Kelly SILDARU