Olympics freeski women’s halfpipe postponed due to brutal snowstorm —as Eileen Gu’s shot at gold must wait

Eileen Gu will have to wait another day for her chance at Olympic gold.

The freeski women’s halfpipe, originally scheduled for Saturday afternoon, has been postponed until Sunday morning because of an ongoing snowstorm creating unsafe competition conditions. 

The event is now set to happen Sunday at 10:40 a.m. 

Gu, an American-born freeskier who represents China, is the defending Olympic gold medalist in halfpipe. She headlines the 12-athlete field that also includes Americans Kate Gray and Svea Irving.

Gu has already secured silver medals in both slopestyle and big air events at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games. The halfpipe is her last chance at securing the gold medal that has eluded her in this year’s Games.

The biggest threat to Gu might be Zoe Atkin, also an American-born athlete who competes for another country and, like Gu, also attends Stanford. 

Atkin, who represents Great Britain, won gold in freeski halfpipe at the 2025 world championships.

Gu is one of the most popular athletes competing in the Games. She’s continued to make headlines, though, for her decision to represent China, her mother’s native country.

Asked if she felt like “a punching bag for a certain strand of American politics” at the Olympics, Gu said, “I do.”

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“So many athletes compete for a different country,” Gu said to reporters. “People only have a problem with me doing it because they kind of lump China into this monolithic entity and they just hate China. So it’s not really about what they think it’s about.

“And also, because I win,” Gu continued. “If I wasn’t doing well, I think that they probably wouldn’t care as much, and that’s OK for me. People are entitled to their opinions.”