Eileen Gu did what she set out to do.
Gu, the 18-year-old Californian who is competing for China at the Beijing Games, had already won two medals in freestyle skiing events. She took gold in big air last week and narrowly missed another in slopestyle on Tuesday, finishing with silver.
On Friday, she entered the halfpipe — which she believes is the best of her three events — seeking a trifecta.
With a large crowd of Chinese fans cheering her every trick, she easily scored a 95.25 on her second run, putting her far above the rest of the field.