Livigno (Italy) (AFP) - Swiss freeski star Mathilde Gremaud ended Eileen Gu’s hopes of a historic Winter Olympics golden treble on Monday, successfully defending her women’s slopestyle crown at Livigno Snow Park.

In a repeat of the result from the 2022 Beijing Games, Gremaud scored 86.96 in a stunning second run to edge out China’s Gu, whose best total in her three runs was 86.58.

Canada’s Megan Oldham took bronze with 76.46.

Gu seized control of the competition on her first run, punching the air after her 86.58 on the obstacle-filled course.

Gremaud, skiing last in the field, responded with 83.60 as the two favourites set a standard their rivals could not match.

Gu, dressed in her white suit featuring Chinese dragon motifs, fluffed her second run, making a mistake on the first rail, mustering just 23.00 points.

Gremaud, a day after her 26th birthday, then stepped up in spectacular style to grab the lead, heaping the pressure on Gu.

She could not respond, making a mistake at the top of the course to confirm Gremaud as champion.

The winner then had the luxury of a victory lap, cruising down the course with a Swiss flag around her neck.

“I really knew I had to be stronger on the second run, and somehow I managed to do it,” said Gremaud, who added she had been “pushed” by Gu.

“It was a lot of fun. I was very focused and I was very excited to ski, and I was pretty calm as well. It took a lot of mental preparation, a lot of support from my family and from my team.”

The Swiss, whose Olympic career started with silver in the slopestyle event at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, won gold in the discipline four years later along with bronze in big air.

- ‘Crazy ride’ -

Before competing at the Milan-Cortina Games she told AFP she had never lost her passion for skiing despite periods of grief and anxiety over the past few years.

“It was a bit of a crazy ride into this Olympics,” she said. “The last four years have been really intense, and I couldn’t actually be happier to have been in this position as a reigning champion. It could be destroying, but it’s also really motivating.”

US-born Gu, who switched allegiance to China in 2019, was one of the faces of the Beijing Games.

She became the first athlete to secure three freestyle skiing medals at a single Winter Olympics, winning half-pipe and big air gold as well as silver in slopestyle.

The multi-talented skier, who models and studies at Stanford, was aiming for a clean sweep of three golds in her events in Italy.

“I think it’s kind of funny that both Olympics we were within half a point of one another,” said the silver medallist. “If anything I think it’s just a testament to the growth of women’s freeskiing.”

Gu said she had faced various challenges since the Beijing Games.

“I’ve had a really tough last four years to be completely honest with you, dealing with injury and time off snow and then some mental stuff,” she said.

“And sometimes it feels like I’m carrying the weight of two countries on my shoulders and just being able to ski through all of that you know and still show my best and still be so deeply in love with the sport that’s really what I care about and I’m so happy to represent that today.”