Double Olympic champion Gu led the competition with three highest-scoring runs to finish with a winning score of 95.75, while USA freestylers claimed the top five spots in the men's competition.
(Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
If there were any doubts left about her comeback form, Eileen Gu wiped them out with her second consecutive World Cup victory of the season on Friday, 15 December.
The halfpipe World Cup in Copper Mountain was the season's second start for the freestyle skiing superstar and she did not disappoint, soaring to the top of the podium with 95.75 points.
As in her return in Secret Garden a week ago, Gu dominated the competition from the first run, posting 94.75 to open the count, and following up with the winning score on her next attempt. Her third run scored a lower 93.00 points, but was still the top-scoring run among the eight competitors in the final.
Despite improving on last week's best score by almost 10 points, Hanna Faulhaber was once again second to the double Olympic Champion, as she was in Secret Garden.
The USA skier scored 92.00 points, one point ahead of Zoe Atkin, who celebrated her return to the Copper Mountain podium after clinching her career’s first, and so far only, World Cup victory at the resort four years ago.
The men's competition at Copper Mountain quickly turned into a fest of USA talent as the hosts claimed the top five spots in the final.
Two-time Olympic medallist Alex Ferreira led the way with a sensational first run, which earned him 97.00 points – a score that would not be surpassed for the rest of the competition.
His compatriot Hunter Hess finished two points behind with 95.00 to move up from third place in Secret Garden, while Birk Irving joined them on the podium with a last-minute surge. Irving's 92.50 points was the top-scoring third run, enough take him back to the podium at the venue where he was victorious a year ago.
Three-time Olympic medallist Nicholas Goepper also broke into the 90s to finish fourth, while double Olympic champion David Wise moved up to fifth with his last run.
Women's
Men's