Zoe Atkin tops halfpipe qualifying with 91.50 and arrives at final ready to push for gold
Zoe Atkin, the reigning world champion in freeski halfpipe, qualified top for the Olympic final after putting down a 91. 50 on her first run at Livigno Snow Park, a result that leaves her set to drop last in Saturday’s final at 18: 30 GMT (1: 30 p. m. ET).
Zoe Atkin’s clean opener set the tone
Atkin, 23, opened the Olympic freeski halfpipe qualifying with a composed performance that impressed judges with the height of her tricks above the 6. 7m-high pipe and earned her a best score of 91. 50 on her first run. The two-time X Games winner described the moment as nerve‑wracking but said she managed those feelings, adding that qualifying gave her confidence for the final.
Rivals and runs: Eileen Gu, Cassie Sharpe and the field
China’s defending Olympic champion Eileen Gu qualified fifth with a score of 86. 50 after crashing on her first run. Canada’s Cassie Sharpe, the 2018 Olympic champion who qualified third, suffered a heavy crash on her second run and was taken away on a stretcher. Both incidents changed the qualifying order that put Atkin in the top spot for Saturday.
From fear to performance: how Atkin handled the pipe
Atkin has spoken openly about wrestling with fear in the pipe, telling coaches and psychologists she learned to "find comfort in that uncomfortable feeling. " She said she used that approach at Livigno, where heavy snow had already interrupted the schedule and where she performed in front of family, including her older sister Izzy Atkin, who won Great Britain’s first Olympic skiing medal in slopestyle.
The British skier’s season included three World Cup podiums and a fourth-place finish at the X Games earlier in the season, a result she called "the worst position" that lit a fire in her heading into the Games. Atkin put down a clean qualifying run despite saying she still feels fear around certain tricks, and she described learning to "do it scared. "
By qualifying top, Atkin will drop last in the best-of-three-run final, a spot that allows her to watch competitors’ lines and then choose her approach. The final is scheduled for Saturday at 18: 30 GMT, which is 1: 30 p. m. ET.
Recovery crews and event officials will next focus on athlete care after the qualifying crashes and on the halfpipe final itself, where Atkin will seek to add an Olympic title to her World Championship crown and two X Games wins.
