LIVIGNO, Italy — Mathilde Gremaud successfully defended her Olympic freeski slopestyle title and denied Eileen Gu a gold medal for a second straight Winter Games on Monday.

Gremaud won the final with a score of 86.96 from the best of her three jumps, while Gu again took silver behind her Swiss rival with her best effort of 86.58.

Gremaud, who took her career medal haul to four at the Olympics including a silver eight years ago, said that her winning run was the best of her life.

She also said that the final was about her performing better than ever before, not beating Gu.

“There was a part of me that was defending my gold medal from four years ago, but there was a bigger part of me that was trying to show what I believe I was capable of,” Gremaud said. “I could show a good run in 2018, a great run in 2022 and the best run so far of my life in 2026.”

Gu needed a huge score on her final run when she had one last chance to better Gremaud, but that effort barely lasted. Gu skittered off the first rail and toppled to her side, dashing her title hopes.

Knowing she had locked up the gold after Gu fell, Gremaud tied a Swiss flag around her neck and wore it like a cape as she cruised down the course on her victory lap. After coming off the course, she embraced her teammates to celebrate her fourth career Olympic medal. Nearby, ecstatic supporters waved Swiss flags.

Gremaud, who turned 26 the day before the final, has now beaten Gu twice in Olympic finals by the slightest of margins: 0.33 points in 2022, and 0.38 in 2026.

“I think if we were to replay this contest 10 times, I think there are several instances where I would have won and several others where she would have won and maybe several other instances where neither of us did,” Gu said. “That’s what’s so beautiful about contest skiing; it’s about who can perform on the day.”

Canada’s Megan Oldham claimed bronze.

That tricky rail doomed Gu

Strong as Gremaud was in the jumps, Gu was undone by the railing section at the start of her run.

Gu led after the first of three runs when she nailed her routine, but Gremaud laid down her winning run on her second go to move to the top of the points table. Gu then wobbled off the rail on her second run; even though she kept her balance, but the mistake resulted in a low score.

That same rail section had caused Gu to fall during Saturday’s qualifying, when she had to execute perfectly on a second go to advance to the final.

But when it mattered most on Monday and Gu had her last shot to snatch a win, the result was the same: Just seconds into her run she went tipping off the rail and tumbled in the snow.

Gu also said her first run was her best ever, and she was feeling good about even topping that on her final go — until she hit that fatal snag.

“I felt really good on the takeoff and I had speed, but yeah, it’s slopestyle, there’s six sections in the course and you have to make it through the 1st 5 to be able to showcase the last one,” she said.

Gu, who was born in America but competes for China, became a global star at the 2022 Beijing Games where she won three medals, including gold in freeski halfpipe and big air. She will now turn to defending her titles at these Games.

Gremaud’s medal chest includes a bronze in big air from 2022. She is also a two-time world champion in slopestyle in 2025 and 2023, among other titles.

In slopestyle, skiers perform acrobatic tricks while skiing over rails and jumps that are judged for difficulty and execution. The Livigno course consists of three rail sections followed by three jumps. The best score of the three jumps counts.