By Lisa Richwine and Alvise Armellini
LIVIGNO, Italy, Feb 21 (Reuters) – Steady snow forced a one-day delay to the women’s freeski halfpipe finals, the last Winter Olympics event due to take place in the Alpine town of Livigno, organisers said.
The event was moved from Saturday evening to Sunday.
Snow fell for several hours throughout the men’s ski cross finals, which limited visibility and slowed skiers on the slopes. Livigno is located in northern Italy near the border with Switzerland.
China’s Eileen Gu is set to defend her gold medal in the halfpipe when the event gets underway. Other top contenders include qualifiers leader Zoe Atkin of Britain and China’s Li Fanghui.
Winter weather has upended the Olympics schedule several times during the Milano Cortina Games, which are set to conclude with the Closing Ceremony on Sunday evening.
In the men’s halfpipe, competitors had to compete in a qualifying round on Friday morning followed by the finals in the evening. The original plan was for the rounds to be held on different days.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine, editing by Ed Osmond)
