2026 Winter Olympics Freestyle Skiing: Women’s Halfpipe Final Postponed to Sunday After Livigno Snowstorm
The women’s halfpipe final at Milano‑Cortina 2026 has been moved to Sunday after a snowstorm in Livigno blanketed the venue and made competition unsafe. The postponement affects the final day schedule and the title chase between Britain’s Zoe Atkin and defending champion Eileen Gu.
Livigno snowstorm and 2026 Winter Olympics Freestyle Skiing schedule
Heavy snowfall in Livigno completely blanketed the halfpipe, creating poor visibility and leaving the pipe effectively flooded with snow. Organisers initially delayed Saturday’s final by an hour and a half, but shortly afterwards the decision was taken to push the event back by a day; the rescheduled final is likely to take place on Sunday morning, the final day of the Games.
Fuller explains postponement and weather impact
Fuller explained the decision to postpone, citing a blizzard and a halfpipe buried under snow as the immediate reasons the competition could not proceed. The accumulation and unsafe sightlines were given as cause for the shift, which required a one‑day change to the event timetable.
Zoe Atkin's qualifying form and medal bid
Team GB’s 23‑year‑old Zoe Atkin produced a standout first run in Thursday’s qualifying, scoring 91. 50 — a mark that would not be beaten in qualifying. Atkin, the reigning X Games champion who sealed her second X Games title a couple of weeks before the Games and who is also the reigning world champion, is among the favourites to take Olympic halfpipe gold and improve on her ninth‑place finish from Beijing 2022, her debut Games.
Eileen Gu, Li Fanghui and the qualifying order
Defending champion Eileen Gu qualified in fifth after a mistake on her first run; she clipped the lip of the pipe on her third jump but recovered to post a competitive second run. China’s Li Fanghui was the second‑highest qualifier with 90. 00 on her second run; Li shared the overall World Cup crystal globe with Atkin last season. Observers have called it a "tall order" for Gu to take gold in a halfpipe showdown with Atkin, and Atkin herself has said it is "tough" to beat Gu.
Britain’s snowsport standing and recent results in Livigno
Atkin represents Britain’s last snowsport medal hope after a series of near‑misses and one celebrated victory in Livigno. Freeskier Kirsty Muir finished fourth twice, in Big Air and slopestyle. Snowboarder Mia Brookes took fourth in the snowboard Big Air and failed to qualify for the slopestyle final. Meanwhile Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale secured Britain’s first‑ever snowsport gold with victory in the mixed snowboard cross last week, leaving GB Snowsport with a mixed overall return from the Games.
What makes this notable is how the weather has directly reshaped the closing hours of competition: a one‑and‑a‑half‑hour initial delay escalated into a full‑day postponement, altering athletes’ recovery and preparation windows and compressing the programme into the Games’ final morning.
