Eileen Gu overcomes an early fall in slopestyle to keep her Olympic dreams intact

LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — Eileen Gu skied backwards out of the slopestyle starting gate, jumped onto the first rail, did a 270-degree spin and landed on the snow. Then, she fell.

For the next hour, as she prepared for her second, final and now excruciatingly pressure-packed chance to keep all her Olympic goals alive, she kept telling herself, “there’s no time anymore, like, this is it.”

One of the shining stars of these Winter Games stared down the specter of being eliminated in her very first event Saturday, delivering a clutch performance in a qualifying session that produced way more drama than expected.

“I went through the five stages of grief, first,” Gu said of the reaction after her fall. “It was, like, confusion, maybe depths of despair, perhaps a conniption. And then by the end of it, I ended in this flow state.”

That drama began six seconds in, when Gu, who four years ago became the first action-sports athlete to win three Olympic medals at the same Games, landed at a strange angle off the very first feature on the trickier-than-expected rails portion, then went skittering into the snow.

Her score: a laughable 1.26 on a 100-point scale. At the bottom of the hill: confusion.

Her mother, Yan, asked if she felt sleepy for the 10:30 a.m. start, or if her blood sugar was low. She loaded her daughter up with some dried fruit and sent her back up the mountain for one of the longest hours of her life — waiting for a second, decisive run that would determine whether the quest to go 3 for 3 again at the Olympics would remain in tact.

“I sank deep into myself,” Gu said. “I went deep into the pit of my stomach and I found my flow state and I told myself that I have worked so ridiculously hard. It's not that I love skiing, I'm obsessed with it and I've lived and breathed this.”

Then, suddenly, a feeling of calm, and Gu thought “if there's anyone to bet on now, I'd bet on myself.”

“I just told myself, ‘I love myself, I trust myself, I love this sport and I am the best,’” said the 22-year-old, who was born in America but competes for her mother's homeland, China. “Like, I can land, and by the time I got to the gate, there was zero doubt in my mind that I was going to land. No doubt at all.”

Though anything but routine, that second run certainly looked it. Her score of 75.30 put her in second place and that held up among the 23 women seeking 12 spots in Monday's final.

The only better score was posted by Mathilde Gremaud of Switzerland, who nailed her first run and didn't have to worry. Gremaud's narrow victory in China four years ago was the only thing that stood between Gu and three gold medals instead of two and a silver.

“Honestly, the stress level today was really low,” Gremaud said.

Easy for her to say.

What nearly ruined this day for the sport's biggest name — and what will probably make the difference in the final — was a rail section that is proving more difficult than that at an average World Cup course.

The first rail — the one Gu fell on — is bigger than what these skiers are used to. The distance between the second and third rails is shorter than usual, which can make for issues gathering speed. All this, plus the fact that Gu has been reworking her rails routine in advance of Milan Cortina made this daunting. The trick she fell on was the first time she’d ever tried it in a contest.

But on the second run, Gu nailed that trick and showed a skill set that not everyone in this sport has by spinning all four ways — left and right, going forward and backward — on and off those features. Her ability to pull that off again, and do it with even more rotations than she showed off Saturday, could be the difference between gold, silver — or nothing.

That's for Monday.

On this day — a bluebird day at the Livigno Snow Park frosted with a heavy dose of drama — a huge sigh of relief. Gu said she watched video of the first run on her phone and didn't really recognize the skier there.

“I think there was just this moment of hesitation, uncertainty,” Gu said. “I looked a little fragile, a little uncertain, and I just kind of needed to knock some sense into myself, be like, ‘Remember who you are and get it together.’”

Alex Hall will get to defend his Olympic title after finishing eighth in men's qualifying.

He was one of three Americans to make it through. Konnor Ralph finished 10th and the most stressful ride of all belonged to Mac Forehand who, like Gu, fell on his first run and had to wait an hour for his second chance. He nailed it and ended up sixth.

“The nerves were so heavy, I've never been so nervous for a contest before,” Forehand said. “But I landed it and it all worked out.”

Birk Ruud of Norway had the best score after the two qualifying runs.

AP Sports Writer Joseph Wilson contributed to this report.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

United States' Mac Forehand celebrates during men's freestyle skiing slopestyle qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

United States' Alex Hall practices during a freestyle skiing slopestyle training session at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Switzerland's Mathilde Gremaud competes during women's freestyle skiing slopestyle qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

China's Eileen Gu celebrates competes during women's freestyle skiing slopestyle qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

China's Eileen Gu competes during women's freestyle skiing slopestyle qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

China's Eileen Gu celebrates competes during women's freestyle skiing slopestyle qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

China's Eileen Gu crashes during women's freestyle skiing slopestyle qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

China's Eileen Gu, right, talks with her mom Yan Gu during women's freestyle skiing slopestyle qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

China's Eileen Gu looks on during women's freestyle skiing slopestyle qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday made expletive-filled threats against Iran and its infrastructure if it doesn't open the Strait of Hormuz by his Tuesday deadline, after American forces rescued a wounded aviator whose Iran-downed plane fell behind enemy lines.

A defiant Iran struck infrastructure targets in neighboring Gulf Arab countries and threatened to restrict another heavily used regional waterway, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait off the Arabian Peninsula.

Trump on social media vowed to hit Iran’s power plants and bridges and said the country would be “living in Hell” if the Strait of Hormuz, crucial for global trade, isn’t opened. He ended with “Praise be to Allah.”

Trump has issued such deadlines before but extended them when mediators have claimed progress toward ending the war, which has killed thousands, shaken global markets and spiked fuel prices in just over five weeks.

“It seems Trump has become a phenomenon that neither Iranians nor Americans are able to fully analyze,” Iranian Culture Minister Sayed Reza Salihi-Amiri told visiting Associated Press journalists in an interview in Tehran, adding that the U.S. president “constantly shifts between contradictory positions.”

Both sides have threatened and hit civilian targets like oil fields and desalination plants critical for drinking water. Iran’s U.N. mission called Trump’s threat “clear evidence of intent to commit war crime.”

Iran’s joint military command warned of stepped-up attacks on regional oil and civilian infrastructure if the U.S. and Israel attack such targets there, according to state television.

The laws of armed conflict allow attacks on civilian infrastructure only if the military advantage outweighs the civilian harm, legal scholars say. It’s considered a high bar to clear, and causing excessive suffering to civilians can constitute a war crime.

An intense search followed Friday's crash of the F-15E Strike Eagle, while Iran promised a reward for the “enemy pilot.” It was the first known American aircraft to crash in Iranian territory since the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28.

Trump said that the service member was “seriously wounded and really brave” and rescued from “deep inside the mountains" in an operation involving dozens of armed aircraft. He said a second crew member was rescued in “broad daylight” within hours of the crash.

A senior U.S. administration official said that before locating the second aviator, the CIA spread word inside Iran that U.S. forces had found him and were moving him out, creating confusion for Iranians. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public.

Iran also shot down another U.S. military plane Friday, demonstrating the perils of the bombing campaign and the ability of Iran's degraded military to hit back. Neither the status of the A-10 attack aircraft's crew nor where it crashed is known.

On Sunday, Iran’s state television aired a video showing what it claimed were parts of U.S. aircraft — a transport plane and two helicopters — shot down by Iranian forces during the rescue operation.

However, a regional intelligence official briefed on the mission told the AP that the U.S. military blew up two transport planes because of a technical malfunction and brought in additional aircraft to complete the rescue. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the covert mission.

Iran’s joint military command later said the U.S. bombarded its own aircraft to “prevent embarrassment for President Trump."

Two Black Hawk helicopters were hit but navigated to safe airspace, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive information.

Trump's deadline centers on alarm over Iran's grip on the Strait of Hormuz, critical for global shipments of oil and gas from the Persian Gulf as well as humanitarian supplies. Some ships have paid Iran for passage.

An Iranian presidential spokesperson, Seyyed Mohammad Mehdi Tabatabaei, said on social media that the strait can reopen only if some transit revenues compensate Iran for war damages.

A top Iranian adviser, Ali Akbar Velayati, warned on social media that Tehran also could disrupt trade on the Bab el-Mandeb, a key chokepoint to and from the Red Sea.

Diplomatic efforts continued. Oman's Foreign Ministry said that deputy foreign ministers and experts from Iran and Oman met to discuss proposals to ensure “smooth transit” through the strait.

Egypt said that Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty had spoken with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and with Turkish and Pakistani counterparts. Russia said that Araghchi also spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Bahrain urged the U.N. Security Council to act on its draft proposal with language authorizing defensive action to ensure safe passage through the strait.

In the United Arab Emirates, authorities said that four people — one Nepali and three Pakistani — were hurt in fires caused by debris from the interception of an Iranian projectile at Khor Fakkan port, and interception debris caused fires at a petrochemical plant in Ruwais, halting operations.

In Kuwait, Iranian drone attacks caused significant damage to power plants and a petrochemical plant. They also put a water desalination station out of service, according to the Ministry of Electricity.

In Bahrain, a drone attack caused a fire at a national oil company storage facility and a state-run petrochemical plant, the kingdom’s official news agency said.

In Israel, rescue authorities searched for three people in the northern city of Haifa after an apartment building was hit. It wasn't immediately clear what struck it.

Meanwhile, more than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran since the war began.

In Lebanon, whose health ministry said an Israeli strike without warning killed four people in Beirut, more than 1,400 people have been killed and more than 1 million people have been displaced. Eleven Israeli soldiers have died there while targeting Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants.

In Gulf Arab states and the occupied West Bank, more than two dozen people have died, while 19 have been reported dead in Israel and 13 U.S. service members have been killed.

Lee and Toropin reported from Washington, Metz from Jerusalem and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Lisa Mascaro and Seung Min Kim in Washington; Munir Ahmed in Islamabad; and Farnoush Amiri in New York contributed to this report.

Rescue workers search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit a crowded neighbourhood south of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A woman holds a poster depicting the late Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, left, and the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini during a pro-government gathering in a square in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Israeli security forces and rescue teams work amid the rubble of a residential building struck by an Iranian missile in Haifa, Israel, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Israeli security forces and rescue teams work amid the rubble of a residential building struck by an Iranian missile in Haifa, Israel, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Iran's Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, Seyed Reza Salehi Amiri, talks during an interview with the Associated Press in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Yemeni soldiers patrol the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, Yemen, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdulnasser Alseddik)

A cafe attendant sits at the counter as two men sit at a cafe in downtown Tehran, Iran, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A woman walks past a poster of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in downtown Tehran, Iran, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Vehicles and motorcycles move past an anti-U.S. billboard depicting the American aircrafts into the Iranian armed forces fishing net with signs that read in Farsi: "The Strait of Hormuz will remain closed, The entire Persian Gulf is our hunting ground," at the Eqelab-e-Eslami, or Islamic Revolution square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

In this image provided by Sepahnews, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's official website, wreckage is shown at what Iran's state TV claimed was the site of a downed American transport plane and two helicopters involved in a rescue operation, in Isfahan province, Iran, April, 2026. (Sepahnews via AP)

In this image provided by Sepahnews, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's official website, wreckage is shown at what Iran's state TV claimed was the site of a downed American transport plane and two helicopters involved in a rescue operation, in Isfahan province, Iran, April, 2026. (Sepahnews via AP)

In this image provided by Sepahnews, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's official website, black smoke rises into the air at what Iran's state TV claimed was the site where an American transport plane and two helicopters involved in a rescue operation were shot down, in Isfahan province, Iran, April, 2026. (Sepahnews via AP)

In this image provided by Sepahnews, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's official website, wreckage is shown at what Iran's state TV claimed was the site of a downed American transport plane and two helicopters involved in a rescue operation, in Isfahan province, Iran, April, 2026. (Sepahnews via AP)

Members of Lebanon's General Security stand at the Masnaa border crossing in the Bekaa valley, eastern Lebanon, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

A man, who fled Israeli bombings in southern Lebanon with his family, sleeps in his car used as shelter, along a seaside promenade in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Followers of Iraq's Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr chant slogans as they wave national Iraqi flag during a protest against U.S. and Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, in Tahrir Square, Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

A bedroom is damaged in a building struck in an Israeli airstrike in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Pedetrians walk by a destroyed building within the Grand Hosseiniyeh, with the mosque visible in the background, which officials at the site say was hit by U.S.-Israeli airstrikes Tuesday, in Zanjan, Iran, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Police officers and their horses take cover in an underground parking garage as sirens warn of an incoming missile fired from Yemen in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Maya Levin)

A man looks at a destroyed building within the Grand Hosseiniyeh complex that officials say was hit by U.S.-Israeli airstrikes Tuesday in Zanjan, Iran, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)