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.

Gremaud 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, 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.

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.

Gu will also seek to defend her titles in halfpipe and big air at these Games.

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