San Francisco’s Eileen Gu finishes second but her steeplechase loss is not a ‘disaster’ – The Mercury News

Written by EDDIE PELLS

LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) – The tactic’s nickname is “disaster.” Freeskiing star Eileen Gu saw it as anything but.

Because Gu found just that trick at the top of the high rail of the Olympic slopestyle course on Monday, he opened his Milan-Cortina odyssey – three events and 15 perilous trips down the slopes over 15 days – with a second straight silver medal in the event.

Because the San Francisco native couldn’t get it twice in the three-run competition, he never had a chance at gold.

For the second time in a row, that belonged to Switzerland’s Mathilde Gremaud who, just minutes after the finish, was already hailed as the best women’s slopestyle competitor in the history of the sport.

“That was the best slopestyle I’ve ever done,” Gu said.

And Gremaud: “I can say it’s the best I’ve ever done in my life, yes.”

Canada’s Megan Oldham hit back-to-back jumps with 1260 degrees of spin – not an everyday thing out there – and finished with bronze.

Unsurprisingly, the world’s two best skaters each had career-best runs of .38 – nearly the same margin as when they finished 1-2 at the Beijing Games four years ago.

And yet, for two skaters who are so close, the difference in their ways couldn’t be more stark.

About two weeks ago, Gu began to rework his part of the track – four elements above the technical slope – to improve his Olympic technique.

There are options up there, and on the very first rail, Gu was the only skater out of 12 to choose the long right rail.

The trick – to ski backwards, then jump to the bottom of the feature while turning to his right, an unnatural position, and trying to cross the railroad tracks – is called a “disaster” for a very simple reason.

“It could be really bad,” said American coach Ryan Wyble, one of many, including NBC commentator and former freeskier Tom Wallisch, who called the women’s championship the most progressive they’ve ever seen.

However, if it goes well, you end up with what Gu had – a lead and a sense of accomplishment after reaching his first run, especially knowing that it was the same trick that humiliated him during training and caused the first fall two days earlier that turned qualification into such a stress.

“To be able to put it down when it’s important, I got to the top at the right time, I think it’s important and it’s a proof of my mental strength,” said Gu.

The judges liked it. The 9.2 they gave on the first jump and the 25.95 they gave on the rails section were the highest marks of the day.

But the high-flying part of the show — the part that brings the oohs and ahhs and put the event on the Olympic program 12 years ago — begins with three jumps down. This is where Gremaud has put his focus on preparing for the Olympics, and it showed.

In his winning run, Gremaud, a 26-year-old with last year’s world championship title to go along with his two Olympic golds, skied backwards, then flipped twice while spinning once and flagged. It was the first time he pulled that off in a tournament. He followed that with back-to-back 1260s, each facing a different direction.

“Definitely the strongest run I’ve ever done,” she said.

Meanwhile, Gu couldn’t find “disaster” in his second or third runs. After his last fall, he stabbed his poles into the ground and put his hand on his hip. After a while, he was sliding down, then he smiled down at the camera.

All this turned Gremaud’s last run into a victory lap. He did some great verticals down the course with his country’s flag flying on the back of his ski suit.

“I was not happy that you did not win the third run,” said Gremaud to Gu during the press conference that received the medals. “But I was glad for myself that I didn’t have to go and, like, send it again for a third run.”