Defending Olympic champion Eileen Gu advances to big air final in freestyle skiing

LIVIGNO, Italy — Defending gold medalist Eileen Gu qualified for the women’s big air final in freestyle skiing at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Saturday night, shaking off a fall and landing her last jump.

Gu nailed her first jump but then crashed on her second run, making it essential for her to stay upright on her third and final attempt.

In qualifying, skiers must land two jumps, and the scores from those are combined to determine their position. The top 12 riders advanced to Monday's final.

Gu finished with the second-best score.

Gu, who was born in San Francisco but competes for her mother's native China, won gold in big air four years ago at age 18 at the Beijing Games. She also won gold in the halfpipe in 2022 and took silver in slopestyle, making her the first freestyle skier to win three medals in a single Games.

Oldham tops qualifying, Gremaud third

Megan Oldham of Canada, who won a bronze medal in slopestyle earlier this week, had the best score in big air qualifying with 171.75 points. Gu had 170.75, while Mathilde Gremaud was third with 169.

The Livigno big air ramp, built on a scaffolding, sends the riders soaring down a slope that's more than 40 meters (44 yards) in height and was lit by floodlights for the nighttime event.

On Monday, the 22-year-old Gu repeated as the slopestyle silver medalist, while Gremaud successfully defended her gold from 2022.

Gu will also try to defend her halfpipe title.