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Great Britain’s Zoe Atkin reached the crowning moment of her stellar season with a maiden world title on the final day of the freeski halfpipe championships in Engadin, Switzerland, on Sunday. It was third time lucky for the 22-year-old, who won bronze at the event in 2021 and silver in 2023.
“I feel amazing, I’m world champion,” Atkin said. “I’m going to go celebrate, I’m going to eat all the Swiss chocolate I have in my bedroom. I’m going to have a drink out on the patio. I’m just so excited.”
Atkin fell at the end of her first run, which landed her in ninth place, and she was well behind China’s Li Fanghui, who took the early lead with a score of 90.25 points. But Atkin rebuffed the disappointment and her phenomenal second and final attempt, which contained the highest altitude of the day, landed her a 93.50.
The score was surely going to be enough to put her on the podium but Atkin was made to wait to see what colour medal she would be taking home. The fight for gold came down to the Briton and Li, the two top skiers this season. Li, also 22, fell agonisingly short, receiving a 93.00 to finish 0.5 behind Atkin. Canada’s Cassie Sharpe took bronze with a score of 88.00.
“I was so nervous going into my second run,” Atkin said. “So to be able to put it down when the pressure was on felt so good, and to come back after I got third at my first world championship and second at my second championship, it just feels so good.
“This season I was like: ‘You know what? I want to go for the gold.’ So I put a lot of work in this season to try my new trick in there.”
Earlier this month Atkin and Li shared the overall freeski halfpipe World Cup after both claimed one win, two second-place finishes and a fifth place during the season. It was the first time the crystal globe awarded to the winner had been shared.
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Atkin is the younger sister of Isabel “Izzy” Atkin, who in 2018 won the first British Olympic medal in skiing, claiming bronze in the women’s slopestyle in Pyeongchang.
