Gremaud again denies Gu an Olympic gold medal in freeski slopestyle

LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — Mathilde Gremaud has successfully defended her Olympic freeski slopestyle title and denied Eileen Gu a gold medal for a second straight Winter Games.

Gremaud won Monday’s final with a score of 86.96 from her best of three jumps, while Gu again took silver behind her Swiss rival with a best jump of 86.58.

Gu needed a huge score on her final run when she had one last chance to better Gremaud, but that run barely lasted. Gu skittered off the first rail and toppled to her side, dashing her title hopes.

Knowing she had locked up the gold after Gu fell, Gremaud tied a Swiss flag around her neck and wore it like a cape as she cruised down the course on her victory lap. After coming off the course, she embraced her Swiss teammates and ecstatic supporters.

Gremaud, who turned 26 the day before the final, has now beaten Gu twice in Olympic finals by the slightest of margins: 0.33 points in 2022, and 0.38 in 2026.

Canada’s Megan Oldham claimed bronze.

Gu was undone by the same rail where she fell during Saturday's qualifying, which was topped by Gremaud. In qualifying, Gu's first jump ended in mere seconds when she fell off the rail. And two days later, on her last jump, it was the same result: Gu tumbling into the snow.

Gu, who was born in America but competes for China, became a global star at the 2022 Beijing Games where she won three medals, including gold in freeski halfpipe and big air. She will now turn to defending her titles at these Games.

Gremaud's medal chest includes a silver in slopestyle from the 2018 Winter Games and a bronze in big air from 2022. She is also a two-time world champion in slopestyle in 2025 and 2023, among other titles.

In slopestyle, skiers perform acrobatic tricks while skiing over rails and jumps that are judged for difficulty and execution. In the final, the best score of the three jumps counts.

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

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)

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing a battle to stay in post as he comes under heavy criticism for his decision in 2024 to appoint veteran politician Peter Mandelson as the British ambassador to the U.S. despite the latter's ties to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Starmer’s judgment is in the spotlight like never before after the recent release of millions of pages of Epstein-related documents by the U.S. Justice Department showed how close Mandelson and Epstein were.

There’s widespread anger that the prime minister appointed Mandelson, long a key figure of Starmer's own Labour Party, to such a sensitive and high-profile post.

Starmer fired Mandelson in September after an earlier batch of emails was published showing he remained friends with Epstein after the late financier’s 2008 conviction for sex offenses involving a minor.

But the newly released emails show that Mandelson also passed on sensitive — and potentially market-moving — government information to the disgraced financier in 2009, when he was a member of the Labour Cabinet.

Starmer’s leadership has now been called into question, and several Labour lawmakers have called for him to quit. His chief of staff resigned on Sunday, taking the blame for advising Starmer to appoint Mandelson, and his communications director quit on Monday.

Many believe that is not enough to keep Starmer in the job.

The prime minister is trying to persuade his party members to back him. He has apologized to the British public and to the victims of Epstein’s sex trafficking for believing what he has termed “Mandelson’s lies.”

There are a number of ways in which Starmer could go, some more straightforward than others.

The simplest option is that Starmer announces his intention to resign, triggering an election for the Labour leadership. A resignation could possibly come if a delegation of Cabinet members tell Starmer he has lost too much support within the party or if members of his government quit in protest.

Those considered to harbor leadership ambitions include Health Secretary Wes Streeting, Home Secretary Shabana Mahood and former deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, who had to resign last year after admitting she didn’t pay enough tax on a house purchase. An investigation into that is ongoing.

But there's no clear front-runner.

Andy Burnham, the popular mayor of Manchester who was blocked from standing at a special election in the city later this month, would not be eligible because by longstanding convention the prime minister must be a member of Parliament.

Whoever does run, the election would likely take weeks, with Starmer likely staying in post until that concludes.

If Starmer decides to resign immediately, the Cabinet and Labour’s governing body would likely pick an interim leader to be prime minister, probably someone not standing to be Labour leader. Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy could fit the bill.

Under Labour’s rules, candidates must have the support of a fifth of party lawmakers — about 80.

Those meeting that threshold would then have to receive the support of 5% of the local constituency Labour parties or at three least party affiliates, of which two must be trade unions. Affiliates are groups or organizations that are deemed to have interests consistent with those of the Labour Party; including trade unions and cooperative and socialist societies.

Eligible members of the party and affiliates will then vote for the leader using an electoral system that ranks the candidates. The winner is the first candidate to secure over 50% of the vote.

King Charles III would then invite the winner to become prime minister and form a government.

If Starmer does not resign, he could face a challenge, potentially from within his Cabinet.

Unlike the Conservative Party, which has a history of getting rid of leaders such as Margaret Thatcher in 1990 and Boris Johnson in 2022, Labour does not have that muscle memory. No Labour prime minister has ever been dislodged, though Tony Blair announced his plan to resign in 2007 after a series of low-level resignations.

Challengers would have to meet the eligibility thresholds above, but Starmer would automatically be on the ballot.

Starmer faces a series of hurdles in the weeks ahead. The first will probably be when files related to the vetting of Mandelson are published. Starmer will be hoping they show the scale of Mandelson’s lies. Should they not, that could be a point of high jeopardy for the prime minister.

Another potential pitfall could be the special election in Gorton and Denton on Feb. 26, traditionally a safe Labour seat. However, this time it will be a tough fight, with challenges from the anti-immigration Reform U.K. on the right and the Greens on the left.

The decision to bar Burnham from standing also poses a risk for Labour. Though he was blocked on the grounds that a Burnham victory would trigger a costly special election for the mayoralty in Manchester, critics claim that Starmer did not want to see a potentially dangerous rival back in the House of Commons.

After that comes a raft of elections in May. Many in Labour fear the party could lose power in Wales for the first time since the legislature was created in 1999, fall way short in Scotland and get battered in local elections in England.

It's clear that Starmer faces a difficult landscape.

And that’s barring surprise developments that could further rock his premiership.

“Events, dear boy, events,” Harold Macmillan, prime minister between 1957 and 1963, said when asked what the greatest challenges for leaders were.

FILE - President Donald Trump, left, gets a reaction from Britian's ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson, right, as they take questions from members of the media after announcing a trade deal between U.S. and U.K. in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, file)

FILE - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, right, talks with Britain's ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson during a welcome reception at the ambassador's residence on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025 in Washington. (Carl Court/Pool Photo via AP, file)

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, England, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (Peter Nicholls/Pool Photo via AP)

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer adjusts his glasses as he waits to deliver his speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, England, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (Peter Nicholls/Pool Photo via AP)

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer talks with members of the audience after delivering a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, England, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (Peter Nicholls/Pool Photo via AP)