China's Eileen Gu soars to ski halfpipe gold as Zoe Atkin claims GB's fifth medal of Games

"Atkin qualified for the final in first place and led after the first run, in which the single best score from three runs counts in the standings. Atkin, an American-born skier who competes for her father's homeland of Britain, soared high all contest, a staggering 5.4 metres (18 feet) above the pipe at one point. The 23-year-old finished ninth at the Beijing Games but has been a steady presence on World Cup podiums ever since."

"Gu, American-born but competing for her mother's homeland of China, is already the most decorated freeskier in the short history of the sport at the Olympics and one of the biggest stars at the Milan-Cortina Games. She also captured two silver medals here, to pair with two golds and a silver from the Beijing Games. Gu, the defending champion, shrugged off a first-run error to soar to enhance her lead with a stunning final run score of 94.75."

"Atkin fell behind Chinese pair Gu and Li Fanghui after crashing on her second run, and despite improving to 92.5 on her third attempt, she had to settle for third place. Li then improved her second run score to 93.0, just enough to pip Atkin, who had to settle for matching her sister Izzy, who won ski slopestyle bronze in 2018."

Zoe Atkin won bronze in the women's freestyle skiing halfpipe, claiming Great Britain's fifth medal of the Games. Atkin qualified for the final in first place and led after the first run; the single best score from three runs counts. The American-born 23-year-old competing for Britain soared up to 5.4 metres above the pipe and has been a steady World Cup podium presence since finishing ninth at Beijing. She crashed on her second run, improved to 92.5 on her third but finished third. Eileen Gu, American-born competing for China, won gold with a final-run 94.75. Li Fanghui took silver with 93.0. Bright sun followed a postponement caused by heavy snow. Team GB matched their previous best haul of five medals, with three golds making this their most successful Winter Games.

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