Run Two: Like Rising Sun in the East
Having fallen on her first hit in round one, Rachael Karker managed to lace a run which included both-ways 900s and a switch left alley-oop 540 to put her in fourth place with a 79.50.
Eileen was needing to put a run down, and the pressure was building with a few dropped runs in the second round. Experience told though, as inevitable as the sun rising in the east, she delivered when it mattered.
She started with her signature right cork 900 buick, left cork 900 tail, right 720 lead tail, switch left 720 japan, finishing with back-to-back alley-oop flatspin 540s. It is the run that has seen her dominate halfpipe skiing for what feels like forever, even though she is still only 22 years old. She has the full bag, technicality, spin direction and grab variety—which she holds mostly throughout the tricks—and above all, doing it with monstrous amplitude all the way down the pipe. With her money-making head tilted smile, the judges awarded her a 94.00 and first place—the bar had been truly set and the challenge thrown down to the rest of the field.
Even on their very best day, very few women in the world can curate a halfpipe run that can challenge Eileen’s—but the first of them to drop in the second round was Fanghui. She is a switch transition skiing master, managing to maintain and generate height all the way down the pipe. She starts with a left 720 tail, switch right 900 safety, switch left 720 japan, right 720 safety—although she was reaching for esco which is very cool—finishing with a switch left 540 double japan. Great grabs, consistent amplitude, but compared to both of those in Eileen’s run, it just couldn’t be enough this time. Luckily, there was one more round to go.
Zoe is the other woman who on her day can take down the powerhouse that is Eileen, and this morning she came packing extra boost. Zoe is known for her first hit, but she took things stratospheric in Livigno, with a 540 mute grab that was 5.4m out of the top of the pipe. We can’t be sure, but this is the biggest we can ever remember seeing a woman fly out of the pipe. If she was going to beat Eileen she was going to have go a decent bit bigger than the Chinese rider—and Zoe was giving it a good shot. It wouldn’t be this run though, as she switched up her run slightly and cased the coping losing both skis.
Run two was over, and Eileen was out in front. Could anyone catch her?
Run Three: Close, but not cigar
Putting down her best run of the day, Amy Fraser, improved her score, but not her ranking, to stay in fourth with a run with three different 900s. She fumbled some grabs and lost a little amplitude through the middle of the run, meaning she couldn’t go any higher.
Having crashed on the final hit of her first two runs, Kexin Zhang finally stomped her switch-heavy run, adding a forward left 1080 into the middle, despite which—with her overall low amplitude—was enough to finish her in 6th.
As if to prove a point, Eileen laced her run again, this time going even bigger. Starting off with a 900 over four meters out the coping—insane and almost untouchable. She would fumble a grab, but the amplitude gave her a slightly improved score—mostly probably to give the judges more room to work with if need be with both Zoe and Fanghui able to improve. She was out in front with two riders remaining.
Fanghui would do everything she could, even boosting a huge switch left 900 japan on the final hit to make it both-way switch 900s in the run—incredible progression even in the course of this year. There would be a nervous wait, but eventually the score came in as a 93.00 just behind Eileen.
Could Zoe upset the Chinese one-two? With the bronze medal secured, the pressure on, and her main weapon amplitude, Zoe would need to go massive to change the colour of her medal. She would start with a left 540 mute that some base jumpers would be proud of, into a huge right 720 lead tail, switch left 720 japan, right 540 lead blunt, right alley-oop 360 lead japan, finishing with a switch right 900 lead japan. The run was massive, full of style with controlled grabs—all apart from the alley-oop 360. In the end, this trick with its lack of technicality and amplitude, just prevented her from overtaking either of the Chinese riders.
Eileen had defended her Olympic halfpipe title and become the most decorated freeski olympian in history. As she has said throughout this campaign, she has been made to work for that title. The progression within women’s halfpipe over the last couple of seasons has been phenomenal, with many more riders pushing the favourites and the outcome of contests far from certain. A rising tide lifts all boats, but Eileen has once again risen the highest.
