China's Eileen Gu wins gold in women's Olympic halfpipe final, Canadian Amy Fraser 4th

Eileen Gu defended her Olympic ski halfpipe title on Sunday to make it six medals in six events over her Winter Games career.

The 22-year-old Gu, American-born but competing for her mother's homeland of China, is already the most decorated freeskier in the short history of the sport at the Olympics. She also captured two silver medals at Milano-Cortina, to pair with two golds and a silver from the Beijing Games.

Gu won the event on the strength of her second run, a clean, technically sound pass. She got even better in her final run — pumping his ski poles after landing the final trick — and finished with a score of 94.75. Her teammate, Li Fanghui, took silver and Zoe Atkin of Britain was third.

"She is unreal. It's pretty crazy how good she is," New Zealand's Mischa Thomas said of Gu. "She is `Wonder Woman."'

Canada's Amy Fraser finished just off the podium in fourth place.

The 30-year-old from Calgary put down a first run of 85.10 points that had her in second place after the first run and improved with an 88.00-point performance in the third and final run.

Fellow Canadian Rachael Karker, who won bronze in the event at Beijing 2022, finished in seventh place following a second run score of 79.50.

Cassie Sharpe, of Comox, B.C., suffered a concussion during a crash in qualifying on Thursday. The 2018 Olympic champion and Beijing 2022 silver medallist was not medically cleared for the final.

The event was rescheduled to Sunday following a big snowstorm the night before. It was a bright, sunny day as Gu shined in the final event at the Livigno Snow Park. She shielded her eyes from the sun to catch a peek of her winning score — and instantly liked what she saw.

There were quite a few Gu fans at the base of the halfpipe, holding up pictures of her and waving flags.

Atkin, an American-born skier who competes for her father's homeland of Britain, soared high all contest, a staggering 5.4 metres above the pipe at one point. She finished ninth at the Beijing Games but has been a steady presence on World Cup podiums ever since. She has three victories over the last four years, all in events where Gu didn't compete. The 23-year-old Atkin is the defending world champion.

In her second run, Thomas dropped into the halfpipe — and dropped her phone. It had to be retrieved for Thomas. After the competition, she reported: "My phone is great. Never been better."

Atkin took the lead after the first run with a smooth performance. Meanwhile, Gu lost her balance on her first trick and cut the run short.