Eileen Gu and Birk Ruud are the LAAX OPEN Slopestyle Champions 2026 – Swiss locals twice in 7th place

The first title decision at the LAAX OPEN 2026 presented by Zalando has been made: Eileen Gu (CHN) and Birk Ruud (NOR) secure the slopestyle titles. Both repeat their victories from last year, with Ruud even achieving his third consecutive triumph at the FIS Freeski World Cup in LAAX.

Eileen Gu unbeatable: In the women's competition, Eileen Gu took a clear lead in the first run with a beautiful left double cork 1080 blunt, scoring 85.13 points. She left her competitors standing. This is a very special milestone for Gu: her 20th World Cup victory and thus officially the record for the most victories in the history of the Freeski World Cup. "Holding this record as a woman means so much to me," said Gu. Marin Hamill (USA) took second place behind her. Austria's Lara Wolf improved significantly in the second run and jumped to third place. Olympic champion and co-favorite Mathilde Gremaud, on the other hand, did not have an optimal day: mistakes on the rails in both runs meant she finished 7th at her home World Cup.

2024, 2025, 2026 – Birk Ruud makes LAAX history: The slopestyle course in LAAX suits Birk Ruud. The Norwegian impresses the judges with a technically demanding and very clean first run, including a switch left double cork 1620 blunt. With 85.08 points, he secures victory by a razor-thin margin: "Landing my first run today was a huge relief. I'm overwhelmed and very, very grateful." Matej Svancer (AUT) impresses with a spectacular and versatile run to take second place. Third place went to Evan McEachran (CAN). LAAX local and crowd favorite Andri Ragettli was loudly supported by the fans and managed to improve in his second run, but ultimately finished in seventh place. Nils Rhyner, who lives in LAAX, was the second local to compete and made an impression with a strong 12th place finish.