Eileen Gu finds gold on the halfpipe to make it 6 medals in 6 Olympic events over her career

LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — Eileen Gu snatched a gold ribbon off a gift basket on her way to the mountain Sunday and stuck it in her pocket just in case.

Just in case?

If her 16-day odyssey at the Milan Cortina Games taught the world anything, it’s that there are no sure things in sports. Especially when the athletes flip 15 feet over rock-hard snowscapes for a living.

But that gold ribbon Gu tied into a bow in her hair after her curtain-closing Olympic performance on the mountain did, in fact, match the color medal she won in the women’s ski halfpipe final.

And that gold medal also was the third she's won over two Olympics — more than any athlete in her sport.

And she is now 6 for 6 — six events, six medals, three of them gold, three silver — over a still-young Olympic career that has cascaded well beyond sports, veering into geopolitics, inclusion and, as the gold ribbon reminded us, fashion.

“I took a big risk in trusting myself,” Gu said of her frenetic quest this year, “and I’m glad that I did.”

Gu, born in the United States but competing for her mother's homeland of China, knows that the modeling career, the fame, the platform she commands and the message she sends wouldn't be possible if she weren't the best freeskier in the world. She was also the only woman willing to divide her attention between halfpipe, slopestyle and big air over the 2 1/2-week marathon of Olympic risk-taking.

It was a quest that limited her training, rest and sometimes her sanity. Never her confidence, though.

“I’m not a gambling woman, but if I were, I took a pretty big bet on myself,” Gu said. “There was a chance everything could go wrong and I could have walked away with nothing, because I was trying to do too much. But in my head, even if everything crashes and burns, I tried. I'll never regret trying.”

The risk of doing too much once again reared its head on the first run of this bluebird day in Livigno — the halfpipe bathed one half in sun, the other in shade a day after a snowstorm postponed the final. Gu lost balance on the landing of her very first jump of the contest, forcing her to abandon the run toward the top of the pipe.

Each of her qualifying rounds at these Olympics involved a fall and a must-make return that she landed every time just to get to the final.

In halfpipe, largely viewed as the premier event in the sport and also the event where Gu has won 15 of her 20 World Cup titles, the odds of Gu not landing any of her three runs in the final seemed slim. In fact, it was none.

She ended up with not just the best score of the 32 runs by 11 athletes, but the best two scores of them all. Her second run was a 94 and her last was a 94.75.

“I tried for gold,” said Li Fanghui, who made this the first 1-2 finish for China in this event. “But my first goal was for silver.”

Gu won because she flies higher than almost everyone (except for bronze medalist Zoe Atkin), does more rotations than anyone (highlighted by two 900-degree spins in opposite directions) and, in a key separator in a 1.75-point win over Li, tried one more trick than her Chinese teammate (Gu and most skiers did six, Li only tried five).

“She is ‘Wonder Woman,’” New Zealand’s eight-place finisher Mischa Thomas said.

After Gu landed smoothly on her final run, she lifted her right hand in the air, skied to the scoring area, then pumped her fist. That was trip No. 16 down the mountain over 16 days — every one of them dangerous in their own way, every one of them packed with pressure.

“I'm so tired, but I'm so happy,” she said.

At the end, with the gold medal secure, she wasn't too tired to run in her ski boots to the side of the halfpipe, if only to reach over the blue fencing and share the love with a cohort of fans who celebrated her every appearance in the pipe by chanting “Gu Ailing, Gu Ailing,” which is the Chinese way to say her name.

She isn't the only skier who brought a handful of fans to this remote village in northern Italy. But she's the only one who brought a following. For these Olympics, they came from Stanford, from San Francisco, from China and many points in between.

Part of the reason she skis for China was to get more eyeballs on her sport. She recited figures from the Chinese government that said more than 300 million people have taken to the mountain in that country since she first burst onto the world stage at the Beijing Games four years ago.

“She brings a lot of visibility to our sport, which is awesome, especially in China,” said Canada's Amy Fraser, the only woman to beat Gu in a halfpipe over the last four years. “That’s my favorite event we go to. People treat us like proper celebrities when we go there.”

What country she competes for will follow Gu around until she's through skiing, and probably beyond.

Four years ago, the debate felt more supercharged because it was fresher and the Olympics were in the same country she was representing.

This time, a lot of it felt rehashed and reheated.

Vice President JD Vance weighed in on Fox News last week. Gu stuck to the message she's been preaching all along: the more the merrier when it comes to her sport and, as for her critics, “I encourage those people to use that energy and direct it toward something that makes the world better in their own way.”

With the six medals, Gu stands alone among those in the relatively new sport of freeskiing. She's also shooting up there in the pantheon of Olympians in any sport.

“I walked away as the most decorated free skier of all time, male or female,” Gu said. “I have the most gold medals of any free skier ever, male or female, and that is something that I’m so, so proud of. It’s unbelievable to me.”

AP Sports Writer Pat Graham contributed.

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

China's Eileen Gu holds her gold medal alongside her two silver medals after the women's freestyle skiing halfpipe final at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Gold medalist China's Eileen Gu poses with her medals after winning the women's freestyle skiing halfpipe final at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Gold medalist China's Eileen Gu reacts to winning the women's freestyle skiing halfpipe final at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Gold medalist China's Eileen Gu celebrates winning the women's freestyle skiing halfpipe final at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

China's Eileen Gu reacts during the women's freestyle skiing halfpipe final at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

China's Eileen Gu, left, reacts alongside her mother, Yan Gu, during the women's freestyle skiing halfpipe final at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Britain's Zoe Atkin celebrates during the women's freestyle skiing halfpipe final at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

China's Eileen Gu celebrates during the women's freestyle skiing halfpipe final at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

China's Eileen Gu competes during the women's freestyle skiing halfpipe final at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

China's Eileen Gu smiles during the women's freestyle skiing halfpipe qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

China's Eileen Gu, right, reacts alongside her mother, Yan Gu, after Canada's Cassie Sharpe crashed during the women's freestyle skiing halfpipe qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander isn't scoring the way he usually does, but the Oklahoma City Thunder are still winning the way they normally do.

Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning NBA MVP, averaged 31.1 points during the regular season. In the Western Conference semifinals against the Los Angeles Lakers, he is averaging 20 points and taking only 14 shots per game.

Oklahoma City has still won the first two games by an average of 18 points. Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren each scored 22 points, and the defending champion Thunder beat the Lakers 125-107 on Thursday night.

Ajay Mitchell, starting in place of injured Jalen Williams, is averaging 19 points on 50% shooting in the series for Oklahoma City.

“I think the coaching staff does a good job at just getting all of us ready,” said Mitchell, a second-year guard. "And we have a lot of competitors. Like, everyone’s a competitor on our team. So every time the lights are bright, everyone’s ready to go.”

Holmgren is the leading scorer for the Thunder in the best-of-seven series with 23 points per game. The 2026 All-Star also is averaging 10.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks.

Jared McCain, a midseason acquisition from the Philadelphia 76ers, barely played in the first round against Phoenix but has averaged 15 points and made 8 of 10 3-pointers in the series.

“He goes in there, stays in character, stays aggressive," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "He’s going to shoot the next shot. He makes the right plays, plays inside the team. He competes defensively, has had good defensive possessions for us. And he was huge tonight. You need that in a playoff series.”

The Lakers again were without scoring champion Luka Doncic, who is out indefinitely with a strained left hamstring. They also were missing forward Jarred Vanderbilt, the reserve forward who dislocated the pinkie on his right hand during the second quarter of Game 1. The Lakers had three players finish with five fouls, limiting their aggressiveness late in the game.

Los Angeles guard Austin Reaves, who struggled with his shot in Game 1, scored 31 points on 10-for-16 shooting in Game 2. LeBron James, coming off a 27-point effort in Game 1, followed that up with 23.

With the Lakers up 63-61 early in the third quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander got tied up with Reaves and was called for his fourth foul. Upon review, it was upgraded to a flagrant 1 for Gilgeous-Alexander's follow through. Oklahoma City's Alex Caruso was called for a technical foul as the situation was being sorted out.

Gilgeous-Alexander left the game with the Lakers up 65-61, but the Thunder rallied and took control without him. On a fast break, Holmgren found a trailing Jaylin Williams, who hit a 3-pointer and was fouled. His free throw put the Thunder up 85-74.

The Thunder outscored the Lakers 32-15 while Gilgeous-Alexander was out in the third quarter to take a 93-80 lead into the fourth.

“It was amazing," Gilgeous-Alexander said. “They strung together stops, they’re playing the right way offensively and things are going their way. Full confidence in those guys. They know how to win basketball games. And we've proven that. They’ve proven that no matter who’s on the floor, they know how to get the job done. And they just did it again tonight."

The Lakers cut Oklahoma City's lead to five in the fourth quarter before the Thunder pulled away again.

Los Angeles will host Game 3 on Saturday.

“We just stuck with it,” Holmgren said. “It’s the game of basketball. It’s not always going to go your way. It’s about how you respond. And this team has proven many times that we know how to respond. And we did so tonight.”

This story has been corrected to show that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 20, not 19, points per game against the Lakers.

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

Oklahoma City Thunder's Chet Holmgren (7) shoots over Los Angeles Lakers' Austin Reaves (15) in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell, front, works for a shot as Los Angeles Lakers' Austin Reaves, rear, defends in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James stands on the court in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series against the Oklahoma City Thunder Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives to the basket past Los Angeles Lakers' Deandre Ayton (5) and LeBron James, rear, in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) works to the basket against Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura (28) in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)