Canada's Oldham "surpasses wildest dreams" to capture Big Air gold medal

Canada's Megan Oldham kept a cool head to rise above challenging weather and intense competition as she claimed gold in the Women's Freeski Big Air at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games on Monday.

The much-anticipated final was delayed by more than an hour because of strong wind and snowfall at the Livigno Snow Park on Monday, putting more pressure on competitors as they awaited clearance for the event to finally go ahead.

In the end, Oldham landed the biggest prize of her career as she clinched gold with scores of 91.75 and 89.00 in her first two runs, and though she did not improve on her final run, she had done enough to fend off her nearest rivals.

The victory secured her second medal of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, after she took bronze in the women's slopestyle earlier in the Games.

Proudly wearing her two medals round her neck, Oldham shared her emotions in a post-competition interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN) on Tuesday.

Given how athletes' preparations had been hampered by the weather in the lead up to the final, Oldham emphasized the importance of ensuring she delivered a solid opening run to set the tone.

"It's been absolutely incredible. This has been an Olympic Games that has surpassed all my wildest dreams, for sure. I wanted to come here and get one medal and go home with that -- and to have two and be Olympic champion, is just, it's crazy. That first run, I feel like really sets you up for the rest of the competition, so I was just trying to really focus on that one and make sure that I landed it clean, to kind of build up that confidence and keep the momentum going for the rest of the competition," said the Canadian.

The 24-year-old freeskier, who just missed the medals after finishing fourth at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, also spoke with deep respect for her rival, China's Gu Ailing, the defending champion from 2022.

Despite a four-year absence from international competition since her big win in Beijing, Gu opened strongly with a 90.00-point first run but a slight slip in her second run dented her charge. However, she fought back under immense pressure to record a score of 89.00 in the final run, securing silver and bagging her fifth Olympic freeski medal overall.

Oldham was full of praise for Gu, and said she knew she would have to be at her very best to have a chance of beating the reigning Olympic champion.

"Eileen [Gu] is such a talented skier. She's so good under pressure, and it's really hard to know what she's going to do, because she's always learning new tricks and always kind of pulling something out that we don't expect. So I just knew today, going in, that I needed to really put my best skiing forward, and no matter what, showcase that, and I was hoping it would be enough to stand next to her, and luckily it was," said the Canadian.

Meanwhile, there was delight for the home crowd as Italy's 18-year-old Flora Tabanell bagged bronze with a stunning 94.25 in her final run.

Canada's Oldham "surpasses wildest dreams" to capture Big Air gold medal

New York's skyline glowed with a festive touch on Sunday evening as the Dream Wheel, widely known as the "Eye of New York," was illuminated in dazzling red to mark the Chinese New Year and the arrival of the Year of the Horse.

Towering over "American Dream" -- the largest shopping and entertainment complex in the northeastern United States -- the landmark ferris wheel is the complex's crowning architectural feature.

As hundreds of guests and local residents counted down in unison at a lighting ceremony, the Dream Wheel gradually lit up, erupting in a brilliant and celebratory Chinese red. The radiant display painted the sky above the venue, sending blessings for the Year of the Horse -- symbolizing hope, good fortune, and strength -- across the greater New York area.

"It's a great pleasure to have the Chinese people to be near us. I've been in China myself more than 20 times and I love Chinese people -- really respect the Chinese people very much. Happy New Year to all of the Chinese people," said Galmez, an invited guest.

The promotional video for the China Media Group (CMG)'s 2026 Spring Festival Gala was also screened at the event. The festive visuals captured the attention of local shoppers and tourists, many of whom paused to watch and pulled out their phones to record the special moment.

As the reach of the Gala's promo extends to more iconic overseas landmarks, Chinese New Year traditions are being shared with global audiences in increasingly vivid and accessible ways -- bringing the warmth of the festival closer to people around the world.

"New Year is to -- you build it upon each other to make the world a better place. It's a new start, like a new day always is, but it's a Year of the Horse now. You're valuable people. You're amazing, beautiful, talented people who have carried tradition and art form down to us. We appreciate that greatly," said Morgan, a local resident.

"Dream Wheel" lit in red to celebrate Chinese New Year in New York