Ruud and Gu nab Slopestyle wins at Laax

VIDEO SHOWS: HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE FIS FREESKI WORLD CUP 2026 SLOPESTYLE FINALS WITH BIRK RUUD WINNING THE MEN'S COMPETITION AND EILEEN GU WINNING THE WOMEN'S COMPETITION / SOUNDBITE FROM EACH OF THE WINNERS RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT SHOWS: LAAX, SWITZERLAND (JANUARY 17, 2026) (LAAX – No resales. No monetisation.) MEN’S SLOPESTYLE FINAL 1. VARIOUS OF WINNER, BIRK RUUD (NORWAY), ON HIS RUN 2. VARIOUS OF SECOND-PLACE FINISHER, MATEJ SVANCER (AUSTRALIA), ON HIS RUN 3. VARIOUS OF THIRD-PLACE FINISHER, EVAN MCEACHRAN (CANADA), ON HIS RUN 4. VARIOUS OF RUUD, SVANCER AND MCEACHRAN ON PODIUM 5. (SOUNDBITE) (English) LAAX SLOPESTYLE WINNER, BIRK RUUD, SAYING:     “It’s amazing. I’m very proud. I guess good things come when you are relaxed and manage to stay present and work hard. It’s almost hard to believe. And in a way, I guess that’s how it’s possible too. Because if I were to think that, ‘I need to win this year to make three –,” it doesn’t matter. Whatever I think, it doesn't matter. All that matters is what I can do on my skis when it matters, I guess, on the course.”  WOMEN’S SLOPESTYLE 6. VARIOUS OF WINNER, EILEEN GU (CHINA), ON HER RUN 7. VARIOUS OF SECOND-PLACE FINISHER, MARIN HAMILL (UNITED STATES), ON HER RUN 8. VARIOUS OF THIRD-PLACE FINISHER, LARA WOLF (AUSTRIA), ON HER RUN 9. VARIOUS OF GU, HAMILL AND WOLF ON PODIUM 10. (SOUNDBITE) (English) WINNER, EILEEN GU (CHINA), SAYING:     “The first freeskier with 20 World Cup wins. It sounds pretty unbelievable to say. What I’ve come to realize is that it becomes exponentially harder with each win. So, to carry that pressure and let it drive me instead of letting it crush me, has been a journey, honestly. And to work on my mental and work on my skiing. Every time, coming to Laax is such a joy and such a pleasure. So, major shoutout to the park crew, to everyone here and the whole crew at Laax. I love this event. Yeah, two wins here, back-to-back. So happy to keep it going.” 11. VARIOUS SCENIC VIEWS AROUND COURSE AND FANS STORY: Birk Ruud and Eileen Gu soared to gold in the Freeski World Cup slopestyle events to defend their titles at the Laax Open 2026 on Saturday (January 17).       Ruud’s win makes it three in a row for the Norwegian at the event in the Swiss Alps.     It was tight at the top with Ruud scoring a best score of 85.08 to edge out Matej Svancer of Austria who scored 84.08 and Canada’s Evan McEachran with 82.70.     Gu, on the other hand, dominated the women’s competition with a top score of 85.13.     It marked a record 20th career World Cup win for the Chinese skier.      Marin Hamill of the United States scored a 71.38 to place second while Lara Wolf of Austria came in third at 67.85.  (Production: Kurt Michael Hall)

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