Gu Ailing shows her medals after the award ceremony of freestyle skiing women's freeski halfpipe at Zhangjiakou Medals Plaza of the Winter Olympics in Zhangjiakou, north China's Hebei Province on Feb. 18, 2022. (Xinhua/Xue Yubin)
Freeski prodigy Gu Ailing wins her second gold at Beijing 2022, while Norwegian biathletes underline their domination to earn the medal table leader's 15th gold at the Games.
BEIJING, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Freeski prodigy Gu Ailing won her second gold medal at the Beijing Winter Olympics with an unparalleled performance in women's halfpipe on Friday, while Norwegian biathletes continued their domination, earning the country its 15th gold to sit atop the overall medal tally.
Gu's halfpipe gold, which was the eighth for Team China, made the 18-year-old the youngest athlete to win three individual medals at Winter Olympics and the first freestyle skier to win three medals at a single Winter Olympics.
The teenage sensation had won gold in Big Air followed by a slopestyle silver in her Olympic debut.
In halfpipe, her most proficient event, Gu scored 93.25 points in her first run to lead the 12-strong final standings, and lifted the bar to 95.25 points in her second run.
Gu Ailing reacts after the freestyle skiing women's freeski halfpipe final of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou, north China's Hebei Province on Feb. 18, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhang Hongxiang)
Gu said it was Canadian skier Cassie Sharpe that inspired her to stage some more challenging tricks.
"In my second run I wanted to step it up. Cassie with a cork 1080 inspired me so I wanted to put the right alley-oop 540 in," she said.
Having secured the gold after preceding athletes failed to beat her score, Gu wrapped up her Olympic journey with a victory lap in the third run.
"I felt like, 'You know what, the last event at the Olympics it feels like I finally deserve it.' I'm really happy," she said.
Defending champion Sharpe came second with 90.75 points from her final run, and her Canadian compatriot Rachael Karker, 24, took the bronze with her first-run score of 87.75.
Johannes Thingnes Boe handed Norway its 15th gold at these Games after winning men's 15km mass start in 38 minutes and 14.4 seconds.
Sweden's Martin Ponsiluoma finished second with one miss in prone and one in last standing, 40.3 seconds back. Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen of Norway won the bronze medal, 1:12.5 minutes behind the winner.
France's Justine Braisaz-Bouchet managed to beat Norwegian biathletes in the women's 12.5km mass start, finishing in 40:18.0 despite four missed shots.
"I was so shocked I had won. I'm really happy to say that I'm Olympic champion. It's quite amazing. It's a really big feeling and I want to thank my family, my husband, especially for him. A big thank you to all the team and the people who support me," said an emotional Braisaz-Bouchet.
Justine Braisaz-Bouchet of France competes during biathlon women's 12.5km mass start of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at National Biathlon Center in Zhangjiakou, north China's Hebei Province on Feb. 18, 2022. (Xinhua/Ding Ting)
Tiril Eckhoff secured the silver, 15.3 seconds behind the winner, and another Norwegian Marte Olsbu Roiseland finished third, 34.9 seconds back.
As biathlon competitions concluded on Friday, Norway has taken six of 11 golds and 14 medals from 33 on offer.
Elsewhere, Dutch speed skater Thomas Krol came victorious in men's 1,000m in 1:07.92, followed by Canada's Laurent Dubreuil 0.4 seconds behind. PyeongChang silver medalist Haavard Holmefjord Lorentzen of Norway took bronze in 1:08.48.
Thomas Krol of the Netherlands competes during the speed skating men's 1,000m at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing on Feb. 18, 2022. (Xinhua/Wu Wei)
China's promising star Ning Zhongyan ranked fifth in 1:08.60.
"I am quite satisfied with my performance. I performed better today than in the 1,500m. I am in better condition today," said the 22-year-old, who was placed eighth in the king's race on Feb. 8.
Ryan Regez and Alex Fiva finished one-two in the men's ski cross big final, making Switzerland the first country to win the Olympic title twice since the event's debut at Vancouver 2010. The 29-year-old Sergey Ridzik from the Russian Olympic Committee, the bronze medalist at PyeongChang 2018, finished third again.
Gold medalist Ryan Regez of Switzerland poses during the award ceremony of freestyle skiing men's ski cross at Zhangjiakou Medals Plaza of the Winter Olympics in Zhangjiakou, north China's Hebei Province on Feb. 18, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhu Zheng)
In figure skating, China's two-time world champions Sui Wenjing and Han Cong finished first in the figure skating short program with a new world record score of 84.41. Eugenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov of the Russian Olympic Committee were in second place, just 0.16 points behind Sui/Han.
Canada beat defending champion the United States 8-5 to win the men's team curling bronze medal, while women's title holder Sweden was shocked by Britain 12-11 in the semifinals. Britain will contend with Japan, who ousted Switzerland 8-6, in the final.
Eight gold medals are up for grabs in freestyle skiing, Alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, curling, speed skating, figure skating and bobsleigh on the penultimate day of Beijing 2022. ■
