Women’s Olympic Halfpipe Final Delayed by Intense Snowfall in Freestyle Skiing Event

LIVIGNANO, Province of Lucca — Heavy snowfall in the Italian Alps has led to the postponement of the women’s Olympic freeski halfpipe final at the Milan Cortina Games, originally scheduled for Saturday.

The final has now been moved to Sunday, Feb. 22, and is set to begin at 10:40 a.m. Eastern Time.

The International Ski and Snowboard Federation announced that the heavy accumulation of snow on the halfpipe has rendered it impossible to guarantee a “safe and fair competition for all athletes.”

Officials from the federation are actively working to reschedule the event, with the Olympic Games concluding on Sunday.

The final was first scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. local time Saturday, but officials delayed it to 9 p.m. before calling it off altogether for Saturday.  

Snowstorms this week have caused delays and events to be reshuffled twice already in Livigno, where the Olympic freeski and snowboarding events are being held.

The women’s halfpipe final is the last event for action sports at the 2026 Olympics.

The final will feature defending champion Eileen Gu going for her third medal this year and her sixth in as many career Olympic events.

The 22-year-old Gu, who was born in the U.S. and competes for China, has won two silvers in Italy, finishing second in both slopestyle and big air.

Four years ago, Gu became the first freestyle skier to win three medals in a single Olympics after she won gold in halfpipe and big air and silver in slopestyle at the 2022 Beijing Games.

Trying to stop her from repeating as the halfpipe champion will be Amy Fraser of Canada, the only skier to beat Gu in a major contest since she won Olympic gold four years ago. Zoe Atkin, an American-born skier who competes for Britain, is also eyeing the podium after she finished first in Thursday’s qualifying.

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