China's Aileen Gu retained her Olympic freestyle halfpipe title and won a record sixth medal.

Chinese skier Eileen Gu successfully defended her women's halfpipe title at the Winter Olympics on Sunday, delivering an impressive performance that made her the most decorated Olympic freestyle skier of all time with six medals.

Gu's compatriot Li Fanghui won silver, and bronze went to Zoe Atkin from Great Britain.

After a disappointing first round, Gu performed brilliantly in her second and third rounds, topping the standings with a score of 94.75 points and adding a gold medal to the silvers she won in Livigno in big air and slopestyle.

She put on a stunning show in the sun-drenched Italian Alps, soaring four meters above the 7.2-metre halfpipe and performing flawless flips and spins.

The 22-year-old, who won two gold and one silver medals on home snow at the Beijing Olympics four years ago, took Canada's Mikael Kingsbury from the top of the all-time Olympic freestyle medal table.

For the awards ceremony, Gu accessorized her high ponytail with a glittery gold bow that matched the gold jewelry around her neck.

She said she skied with a bow in her pocket throughout the Milan and Cortina Olympics. Gu blew kisses to a large group of Chinese fans who cheered and waved flags with her image on them.

“I’m so tired, but I’m so happy,” she said. “I feel like I give 110 percent every day. It’s like a marathon, but at a sprint pace, because I can’t relax even a day.”

Gu was the only woman to compete in freestyle skiing in three disciplines: big air, slopestyle and halfpipe.

Competing in all three sports meant she had to miss some halfpipe training at the Olympics, and she said it was a risky move to dedicate herself to so many events.

“I took a big risk by trusting myself, and I’m glad I did it,” Gu added.

Lee successfully completed her second run and moved up to second place, and on her third attempt she improved her score to 93.00, with only Atkin remaining.

British world champion Atkin, like Gu, born in the USA but representing the country of one of her parents, showed her best result of the day, completing the final, but could only score 92.50 points and was content with bronze.

The final was originally scheduled to take place on Saturday, but was postponed due to heavy snowfall in Livigno.

Xrust Chinese athlete Eileen Gu retained her Olympic title in freestyle halfpipe and won a record sixth medal