Gold medalist Gu Ailing of China looks at her medal during the awarding ceremony for freestyle skiing women's freeski halfpipe at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 22, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Chao)

China's freeski icon Gu Ailing successfully defended her Olympic gold medal in the women's halfpipe at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Sunday.

Gu delivered a final run of 94.75 points to seal victory, having already posted the highest score of the competition with a 94.00 in her second run.

Gu's first run was marred by a landing error on her initial 900-degree spin, causing her to lose speed and momentum. She bounced back on her second run, landing back-to-back 900s cleanly and executing the remainder of her routine without fault to move to the top of the standings before improving further in the final round.

The gold medal adds to Gu's Olympic resume, marking her third career Winter Olympic title following two golds at Beijing 2022. It is also her third medal at these Games, having previously taken two silvers in slopestyle and big air.

Silver medalist Li Fanghui (L) of China, gold medalist Gu Ailing (C) of China and bronze medalist Zoe Atkin of Britain pose during the awarding ceremony for freestyle skiing women's freeski halfpipe at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 22, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhang Hongxiang)

China's Li Fanghui secured silver with a strong third run of 93.00. Britain's Zoe Atkin, who topped qualifying, took bronze with 92.50.

After the 1-2 finish, China's medal tally at Milan-Cortina stood at five golds, four silvers and six bronzes, marking the country's best result at an overseas Winter Games, with the previous record being 5-2-4 at Vancouver 2010.

The other two Chinese freeskiers, Zhang Kexin and Liu Yishan, placed sixth and ninth, respectively.

Gold medalist Gu Ailing of China poses during the awarding ceremony for freestyle skiing women's freeski halfpipe at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 22, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Chao)

Gu Ailing (L) of China hugs her teammate Li Fanghui after run 3 of the freestyle skiing women's freeski halfpipe final at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 22, 2026. (Xinhua/Wang Peng)

Gold medalist Gu Ailing of China reacts after the awarding ceremony for freestyle skiing women's freeski halfpipe at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 22, 2026. (Xinhua/Wang Peng)

Gu Ailing of China celebrates winning after run 3 of the freestyle skiing women's freeski halfpipe final at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 22, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhang Hongxiang)

Gu Ailing of China celebrates winning after run 3 of the freestyle skiing women's freeski halfpipe final at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 22, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Chao)

Li Fanghui of China reacts during run 1 of the freestyle skiing women's freeski halfpipe final at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 22, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhang Hongxiang)

Li Fanghui of China reacts during run 1 of the freestyle skiing women's freeski halfpipe final at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 22, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Chao)

Li Fanghui of China reacts during run 2 of the freestyle skiing women's freeski halfpipe final at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 22, 2026. (Xinhua/Wang Peng)

Li Fanghui of China competes during run 1 of the freestyle skiing women's freeski halfpipe final at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 22, 2026. (Xinhua/Wang Peng)