'Wake up': Mum sparks comeback after scare for freeski star Gu

Double Olympic champion Gu lost her balance on the first rail during her initial run at Livigno Snow Park on Saturday, scoring just 1.26 with the judges.

That put her under intense pressure, with the top 12 competitors progressing to Monday's final based on the better of their two runs.

But she rescued herself in her second run, scoring 75.30 to climb into second place on the leaderboard.

Dressed in a white suit featuring Chinese dragon motifs, Gu punched the air and smiled as she drifted to a halt.

Defending champion Mathilde Gremaud of Switzerland topped the list of qualifiers with a score of 79.15, navigating the obstacle-filled course in style.

US-born Gu, who switched allegiance to China in 2019, was hugged by her mum after her shocking first run on the sun-kissed slopes.

"We were both pretty just confused," said Gu. "So, she was like, 'Are you sleeping? Maybe you have like low blood sugar or something?'

"She gave me some snacks. She gave me like a date, you know, and like a dried apricot, so I ate that. And then she was like, 'Find some caffeine if you can. Wake up, get it together.'

"Because we both know that, you know, I have it."

Gu, 22, was one of the standout stars at the Beijing Games four years ago, winning gold in the half-pipe and big air and taking silver behind Gremaud in the slopestyle.

Now the multi-talented skier, who models and studies at Stanford, is aiming for a clean sweep of three golds in all of her events at the Milan-Cortina Games.

But those hopes were threatened just moments after the start of qualifying when she tumbled.

Gu admitted she was nervous before her second run and "sank deep" into herself.

"I went deep into the pit in my stomach and I found my flow state and I told myself that I have worked so ridiculously hard," she said.

"It's not that I love skiing, it's that I'm obsessed with it. And I've lived and breathed this moment for the last year."

She added: "I just told myself, 'I trust myself, I love myself, I love this sport. I am the best. Like, I can land.'

"And so, by the time I got to the front of the gate, there was zero doubt in my mind that I was going to land, like, no doubt at all. I was totally calm, which is pretty amazing, because I went through like the five stages of grief first."