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China's freeski star Gu says Olympics scheduling 'unfair' / Photo: © AFP
China's freeski star Gu says Olympics scheduling 'unfair'
Freestyle skiing star Eileen Gu has criticised organisers of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics over scheduling of training, pleading for fairness for athletes competing in multiple events.
The reigning big air champion has qualified for Monday's final but as a result will miss halfpipe training, a discipline in which she also won gold at the Beijing 2022 Olympics.
"I have asked for fair options like joining one training with the snowboarders, or getting even one hour alone to train, but to no avail," China's Gu posted on Instagram.
"Halfpipe is different from slope(style) and big air, and demands its own training time accordingly."
The 22-year-old said the scheduling in Italy appeared to contradict the spirit of the Olympics.
"Daring to be the only woman to compete in three events should not be penalised -- making finals in one event should not disadvantage me in another," she said
"What kind of message does this send to future athletes who love skiing for its essence and want to compete in every event? This was a totally avoidable issue and I am saddened by the hardline stance FIS (the International Ski and Snowboard Federation) has chosen to take."
FIS said in a statement that "every effort" had been made to accommodate athletes' different needs but conflicts were sometimes inevitable.
US-born Gu, who switched allegiance to China in 2019, took silver behind Switzerland's Mathilde Gremaud in her only completed event of the Games so far, the slopestyle competition.
R.Moore--SFF
