Winter Olympics 2022 – GB’s Kirsty Muir and Katie Summerhayes reach slopestyle final, Eileen Gu third in qualifying

ByMichael Hincks

Updated 14/02/2022 at 11:03 GMT

Kirsty Muir, 17, is competing at her first Winter Olympics, while Katie Summerhayes finished seventh in the slopestyle at both Sochi 2014 and Pyeongchang 2018. Big air gold-medallist Eileen Gu was third overall in qualifying as Kelly Sildaru of Estonia laid down a marker ahead of the final with a 86.15, just 0.15 points more than Norway’s Johanne Killi.

British duo Kirsty Muir and Katie Summerhayes comfortably reached the women’s freeski slopestyle final as Eileen Gu finished third in qualifying.

Muir - who was fifth in the big air earlier in Beijing - qualified in fifth overall in her first Winter Olympics, while Summerhayes came 10th at the Genting Snow Park H & S Stadium.

With 12 athletes advancing to the final, each skier had two shots in qualifying with only their best score counting.

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Twenty-four hours after the event was supposed to take place, having been delayed due to a heavy blizzard at Zhangjiakou Genting Snow Park, the spotlight was on big air gold-medallist Gu as she was first out.

Her opening run scored 57.28, and that was enough for sixth by the same half of the competitors had gone down – Norway’s Johanne Killi the early pacesetter with 81.48 ahead of Kelly Sildaru of Estonia’s 80.96.

Muir was the 16th skier to go, and the 17-year-old put in a fantastic run – including two 900s – to score 70.11 and slot in fourth in the standings.

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Team-mate Summerhayes – competing in her third Olympics after two seventh-place finishes – was up next, and a japan 720 and switch 720 helped her score 66.56 and go fifth behind Muir.

Come the second run, Sildaru improved with a 86.15 to take the lead, while Killi – fifth in Pyeongchang - posted 86.00.

Gu was far more solid second time around as well, and her 79.38 saw her go third early doors.

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By the time Muir went down for her second run, she was still sitting in a comfortable fifth, and a 63.91 did not better her opening score – although she was all-but guaranteed of a place in the final.

Summerhayes was down in ninth ahead of her next run, and she faced a nervous wait when a 59.11 did not help her move up the standings.

Twelve athletes followed Summerhayes, but her place in the final was eventually secured in 10th – sealing a GB double.

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