Zoe Atkin could steal spotlight from Eileen Gu as she raises hopes of another Team GB gold
The 23-year-old would not be beaten in the halfpipe competition on Thursday
When Eileen Gu soared to freeski halfpipe gold four years ago, Zoe Atkin was just happy to be in a final.
Cut to four years later and it's a different story.
Since her ninth-place finish at her maiden Olympic Games in Beijing 2022, Atkin has soared to the top of the international scene and grown into one of freestyle skiing's most dominant halfpipe athletes.
So much so, she now enters her second Games as reigning world champion, X Games champion and joint Crystal Globe holder. So, bring it on Eileen.
There’s clear air between the two heading into Saturday's final, with Gu back in fifth with a score of 86.50 compared to Atkin’s leading 91.50 in qualifying; China’s Li Fanghui is currently Atkin’s closest competitor.
"I think it's a really exciting time for women's halfpipe and freeskiing," said Atkin.
"Women's sports is really having their moment right now, which is super cool.
"Of course I want to go and do the best and I want to win but I think it's also really special to watch the other girls throw down, to give the world a really good showcase of what women's skiing is all about and just show the progression that is happening in the field."
Gu is easily the highest paid athlete at this Games. In fact, it's almost a walk in the park for her after taking fourth place on the list of highest earning female athletes in the world during 2025, with a staggering $23.1.
But where there are high profiles, drama often follows.
The American-born skiing star revealed that she had been forced to miss out on a session of halfpipe training earlier this week after it was scheduled at the same time as the women's freeski big air final.
And with that final substantially delayed, it meant that the reigning halfpipe champion was sat at the top of the big air twiddling her thumbs whilst her competition got in some vital training time.
Gu won silver in that event, adding to the slopestyle silver she had already won this Games to become the most successful freestyle skier of all time.
The Chinese athlete saw an uncharacteristic first run, clipping the lip of the pipe on her third jump and hitting the deck but recovered in her second to return to form.
“I haven’t skied halfpipe in two months because the last two months I was training slopestyle," said Gu.
"When everyone else can train through the season, I’m always trying to get back to where I was because I’m taking these long breaks to train in the other events.
“At this point, I'm exhausted. I'm the only one in this field competing in one other event, let alone two, but I still have to compete against the best of this event."
Atkin holds British hopes in her hands after GB snow sports have fallen short of their medal hopes at Milano Cortina 2026.
With two fourth place finishes for Kirsty Muir, one for Mia Brookes and several shock exits in the women's snowboard slopestyle and snowboard cross, just one British medal reigns supreme in Livigno.
Yes, it is gold, and yes it was glorious but it is far short of what Team GB expected at the snow park and Atkin is ready to remedy that.
"It's definitely super emotional watching the Games," she said.
"I feel like I always cry for people who win and then I cry for people who get fourth because that sucks.
"But it's a huge goal of mine to get a good result for the team."
The halfpipe has already laid claim to upsets this Olympics, with snowboarding's Chloe Kim unable to claim her golden hat-trick and Australia's golden boy and social media star Scotty James narrowly missing out on his highly-anticipated title. Can Atkin now deliver Gu the same fate?
TNT Sports on discovery+ will be the go-to destination in the U.K to watch everything of Milano Cortina 2026 live all in one place, with over 850 hours of action from every sport, venue, and medal event.’
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