Winter Olympics 2026: Fans blown away after Eileen Gu denied gold by move never seen before

Eileen Gu had to settle for silver in the women’s slopestyle at the Winter Olympics on Monday after Mathilde Gremaud became the first woman to perform a trick known as the nose butter double cork 1260. Chinese superstar Gu was hoping to overturn the result from Beijing four years ago when Swiss rival Gremaud denied her the gold at her home Games.

But Gu fell at the start of her final run on Monday, allowing Gremaud to complete a victory run draped in the Swiss flag. Gremaud achieved the highest score of 86.96 after pulling off a nose butter double cork 1260.

It made her the first woman in history to successfully land the trick at the Olympics. The trick involves a skier pressing the tips of their skis on the takeoff to start the spin, before they then perform a double cork 1260 with two distinct off-axis, inverted flips combined with three and a half full, horizontal rotations.

“Eileen tried to come for me all the time, and I had to really focus on myself so that she couldn’t get to me,” Gremaud said after claiming back-to-back golds. “It was a crazy ride. It was a really tough battle with Eileen. She pushed me to push myself as well for sure.”

Eileen Gu rapt despite missing gold medal

Both of Gremaud’s wins over Gu have been by tiny margins – 0.33 points at the 2022 Games and 0.38 this time around. Gu said: “I think it’s funny that both Olympics we were within half a point of one another. If anything, I think it’s just testament to the growth of women’s freeskiing. It’s so special to be a part of that.

“The hardest part has been staying consistent all these years. I’ve had a really tough last four years, dealing with injury and time off snow and then some mental stuff.

“So being able to compete and really showcase my best skiing – that was my best slopestyle run that I’ve ever done, and I know that was Mathilde’s best slopestyle that she has ever done as well – to participate in pushing the sport at the level that it’s at, is the highest honour for me.”

Gu suffered a major concussion last year and experience seizures as a result. But she’s back on the Olympic podium where she belongs. Fans were blown away by Gremaud and Gu’s performances, especially after Gremaud’s historic trick to seal the gold.