Olympics
Eileen Gu has qualified for the Big Air finals but the qualification came with an unexpected cost. The Big Air finals at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics are clashing with halfpipe training, forcing Gu to miss an entire day of preparation for the women’s halfpipe qualifications on Thursday, February 19.
Gu is the only woman at these Games attempting to compete in three freestyle disciplines. None of the other female halfpipe athletes are also competing in Big Air. Halfpipe demands dedicated, event-specific training to get the wall timing, amplitude control, and rhythm right. There are very few athletes who will compete across all three Park and Pipe events and even less who qualify in all three for the Olympics. Gu qualified for the Olympic Big Air finals after not competing in any Big Air events in four years. In 2022, Gu claimed gold at the Beijing Winter Games. She admits to learning the trick “today in training.”
According to Gu, she asked FIS for reasonable accommodations—including joining a snowboard halfpipe training session or receiving even one hour of solo pipe time. Both requests were denied. “Making finals in one event should not disadvantage me in another,” she wrote. “Daring to compete in three events should not be penalized.”Halfpipe is not plug-and-play. Missing a full training day at Olympic scale is significant, particularly on a venue built for maximum amplitude and precision.
Gu is not the only crossover athlete to run into Olympic rigidity in Milano Cortina. Earlier at these same Games, Ester Ledecká petitioned to have the women’s downhill rescheduled after it directly conflicted with snowboard parallel giant slalom. The request was denied, and Ledecká was forced to forfeit the downhill despite qualifying. In both cases, the Olympic timetable has proven immovable—even for high-profile athletes like Gu and Ledecká.
Gu says she is proud to have qualified for the Big Air final and is looking forward to competing under the lights. Gu is currently competing in the Big Air and is placed second.
