Eileen Gu finishes second but her Olympic slopestyle loss to Mathilde Gremaud is hardly a 'disaster'

LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — The nickname for the trick is “disaster.” Freeskiing star Eileen Gu saw it as something other than that.

Because Gu landed that trick once at the top of the supersized rails portion of the Olympic slopestyle course Monday, she opened her Milan-Cortina odyssey — three events and up to 15 dangerous trips down the slopes over 15 days — with a second straight silver medal in the event.

Because she couldn’t land it the other two times over the three-run contest, she never really had a chance to go for gold.

For the second straight time, that belonged to Switzerland’s Mathilde Gremaud in what, only minutes after it was over, was already being hailed as the best women’s slopestyle contest in the sport’s history.

“That was definitely the best slopestyle run I’ve ever done,” Gu said.

And Gremaud: “I would say it’s the best one I’ve ever done in my life, yes.“

Megan Oldham of Canada hit back-to-back jumps with 1260 degrees of spin — not an everyday occurrence out there — and finished with the bronze.

Not surprisingly, the world's two best skiers each nailing the best runs of their lives resulted in a margin of .38 — a sliver of space that was virtually the same as the gap when they also finished 1-2 at the Beijing Games four years ago.

And yet, for two skiers so closely bunched, the difference in their approaches couldn’t have been more stark.

About two weeks ago, Gu set about reworking her rails portion — the four features on the more-technical top of the slope — to juice up her Olympic routine.

There are options up there, and on the very first rail, Gu was the only skier out of the 12 finalists to choose the longer rail on the right.

The trick — skiing backward, then leaping over the lower part of the feature while twisting to her right, the unnatural direction, and trying to land smack-dab on the rail — is called “disaster” for a very simple reason.

“It can go really, really bad," said U.S. coach Ryan Wyble, one of many, including NBC analyst and former pro freeskier Tom Wallisch, who called this the most progressive women's contest they'd seen.

When it goes good, though, you end up with what Gu had — the lead and a sense of real accomplishment after landing it on her first run, especially knowing it was that trick that tripped her up throughout training and also caused the first-run fall two days earlier that turned qualifying into such a stresser.

“To be able to put it down when it counts, to peak at the right time, I really think it's important and a testament to my mental strength,” Gu said.

The judges liked it. The 9.2 they awarded for the first jump and the 25.95 they gave for the entire rails portion were the highest marks of the day.

But the high-flying part of this show — the part that brings the oohs and ahhs and that landed this event on the Olympic program 12 years ago — begins with the three jumps toward the bottom. That's where Gremaud placed her focus in the run-up to the Olympics, and it showed.

For her winning run, Gremaud, a 26-year-old who has last year's world championship title to go with her two Olympic golds, skied backward, then flipped twice while spinning once and nailed the landing. It was the first time she'd ever pulled that off in a contest. She followed that with back-to-back 1260s, each in a different direction.

“Definitely the most intense run I've ever done,” she said.

Gu, meanwhile, could not land the “disaster” on either her second or third runs. After her final fall, she stabbed her poles into the ground and put her hand on her hips. Moments later, she was skiing down, then smiling into the camera at the bottom.

All of which turned Gremaud's final run into a victory lap. She did straight big airs down the course with her country's flag flapping from the back of her ski suit.

“I was not happy for you that you didn't land the third run,” Gremaud said to Gu during the medalist news conference. “But I was happy for myself that I didn't have to go and, like, send it again for the third run.”

Gu laughed. She gets it. More than the medalists themselves, the real winner on this day, all agreed, was women's skiing.

“Did I want to land a second and third run? Yes. Did I have plans to do bigger and better tricks? Yes. But can I be at all disappointed or feel in any way except for immensely proud? No,” she said. "The first run I landed was the run I came here to do. I'm proud of my skiing.

AP writer Joseph Wilson in Livigno contributed to this report.

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

Switzerland's Mathilde Gremaud celebrates her gold medal on her final run in the women's freestyle skiing slopestyle finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Switzerland's Mathilde Gremaud celebrates her gold medal on her final run in the women's freestyle skiing slopestyle finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

From left, silver medalist China's Eileen Gu, gold medalist Switzerland's Mathilde Gremaud and bronze medalist Canada's Megan Oldham celebrate after the women's freestyle skiing slopestyle finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Switzerland's Mathilde Gremaud celebrates her gold medal win in the women's freestyle skiing slopestyle finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

China's Eileen Gu reacts after crashing during the women's freestyle skiing slopestyle finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Gold medalist Switzerland's Mathilde Gremaud, center, celebrates alongside silver medalist China's Eileen Gu, left, and bronze medalist Canada's Megan Oldham after the women's freestyle skiing slopestyle finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

China's Eileen Gu reacts during the women's freestyle skiing slopestyle finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

China's Eileen Gu celebrates after her score during the women's freestyle skiing slopestyle finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

China's Eileen Gu reacts during the women's freestyle skiing slopestyle finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Switzerland's Mathilde Gremaud celebrates her gold medal on her final run in the women's freestyle skiing slopestyle finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Switzerland's Mathilde Gremaud celebrates her gold medal win in the women's freestyle skiing slopestyle finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

China's Eileen Gu celebrates during the women's freestyle skiing slopestyle finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

China's Eileen Gu celebrates during the women's freestyle skiing slopestyle finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Switzerland's Mathilde Gremaud reacts during the women's freestyle skiing slopestyle finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

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)

ROME (AP) — AC Milan lost ground in the race for the Serie A title after a 1-0 defeat at Lazio on Sunday left it eight points behind leader Inter Milan.

Gustav Isaksen's first-half goal proved enough for Lazio as Massimiliano Allegri's Milan wasted a chance to cut the gap on its city rival, which was held at home by Atalanta on Saturday.

There are nine rounds of matches remaining.

Isaksen broke the deadlock in the 26th minute after connecting with a long ball, getting the better of defender Pervis Estupiñán before sending the ball past Milan 'keeper Mike Maignan with a composed finish.

Milan defender Zachary Athekame's goal from a corner was ruled out in the 75th minute for a handball.

Como came from behind to move into fourth place and a Champions League spot with a 2-1 win over 10-man Roma in the Italian league on Sunday.

Despite missing key players, Roma took an early lead from Donyell Malen's penalty after Stephan El Shaarawy was brought down. Both teams created chances after the interval and Como coach Cesc Fabregas' changes paid off as Tasos Douvikas beat the offside trap to equalize.

A turning point came soon after when Roma's Wesley was shown a second yellow card for a challenge on Assane Diao. Como made the most of its numerical advantage and Diego Carlos sealed the win with his first Serie A goal in the 79th minute.

Roma was in sixth place, three points behind Como.

Elsewhere, substitute Vitinha and Leo Ostigard scored in Genoa's 2-0 win at last-place Verona as Daniele De Rossi’s side moved even further away from the relegation zone.

Genoa is 13th with 33 points after 29 rounds, nine points above 18th-place Cremonese.

Inter Milan drew 1-1 with Atalanta at home on Saturday.

Vitinha scored right after coming on as a replacement for Caleb Ekuban with a powerful shot from long range around the hour mark. Ostigard made it 2-0 in the 86th minute with a header from a free kick.

Down to 10 men from the 37th minute after Rafiu Durosinmi kicked defender Yerry Mina, 19th-place Pisa claimed its second league win of the season.

Antonio Caracciolo scored a brace in the 3-1 win over Cagliari, which also finished with 10 men following Adam Obert's late dismissal for a second yellow card.

Bologna beat Sassuolo 1-0, with Thijs Dallinga scoring early in the game.

But Bologna lost several players through injuries ahead of the second leg of the Europa League round-of-16 tie at Roma on Thursday, with the first leg a 1-1 draw. Goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski was injured after an aerial challenge but was forced to play on because coach Vincenzo Italiano had already used all his substitutions.

Nikola Moro and Lorenzo De Silvestri also got injured Sunday.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Lazio's goalkeeper Edoardo Motta makes a save against AC Milan's Rafael Leao, centre, during a Serie A soccer match between Lazio and Milan, in Rome, Italy, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

AC Milan's Christopher Nkunku makes an attempt to score during a Serie A soccer match between Lazio and Milan, in Rome, Italy, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Lazio's Gustav Isaksen scores his side's opening goal past AC Milan's goalkeeper Mike Maignan during a Serie A soccer match between Lazio and Milan, in Rome, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Como's Diego Carlos celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Serie A soccer match between Como and Roma in Como, Italy, Sunday, March 15, 2026 (Photo by Antonio Saia/LaPresse via AP)

Como's Diego Carlos celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Serie A soccer match between Como and Roma in Como, Italy, Sunday, March 15, 2026 (Photo by Antonio Saia/LaPresse via AP)

Genoa's Vitinha, front center, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Serie A soccer match between Hellas Verona and GFC Genoa 1893 in Verona, Italy, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (Paola Garbuio/LaPresse via AP)