LIVIGNO, Italy - China's freestyle skiing star Gu Ailing recovered from an early fall to advance to the women's slopestyle final here on Saturday at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.

Competing in her debut at Milan-Cortina 2026, the 22-year-old Olympic champion crashed early on the rail section of her first qualifying run and finished with 1.26 points, despite completing the remainder of the course.

After regrouping, and sharing an embrace with her mother, Gu returned for her second run. Wearing an outfit featuring a Chinese dragon, which she called "a symbol of strength, courage and power," she delivered a composed and technically sound performance for 75.30 points, the second-highest score, to secure a place in the final.

Gu won two gold medals and one silver at Beijing 2022, becoming the first freestyle skier to win three medals at a single Winter Games, though she narrowly missed slopestyle gold.

After skipping the 2025 world championships and the Asian Winter Games due to a shoulder injury and later suffering a training accident in New Zealand last August, Gu signaled her return to form last month with a World Cup slopestyle victory in Laax, Switzerland.

She is scheduled to compete in three freestyle skiing disciplines at Milan-Cortina, including halfpipe and big air, but her participation in big air remains uncertain due to limited recent competition.

China fielded four athletes in women's slopestyle for the first time, with three advancing to the final. Han Linshan placed fifth and Liu Mengting finished 11th to qualify, while Yang Ruyi ranked 19th and missed out.

Defending Olympic champion Mathilde Gremaud of Switzerland topped the qualification standings, scoring 76.68 in her first run before improving to a session-best 79.15 in her second.

The 26-year-old defeated Gu for the slopestyle title and won big air bronze at Beijing 2022, along with slopestyle silver at PyeongChang 2018.

A total of 26 skiers entered qualification, with each athlete allowed two runs and the top 12 advancing based on their best score. Three competitors did not start.

The final, featuring three runs with the highest score counting, is scheduled for Feb 9 at Livigno Snow Park.