Eileen Feng Gu, also known by her Chinese name Gu Ailing, is an Olympic freestyle skier in halfpipe, slopestyle, and big air events who has competed for China since 2019. At the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, she became the youngest Olympic champion in freestyle skiing, at age 18, capturing the gold medal in big air.
Eileen Gu: Winning jump| Jump video| Final jump| Winning run
Winning jump:
Moments after the biggest run of her life, the 18-year-old freestyle skiing prodigy was asked about her status as a U.S. citizen, her feelings on Peng Shuai and the incessant hate she’s received on social media.
“If people don’t believe me, if people don’t like me, then that’s their loss,” Gu said. “They’re never going to win the Olympics.”
Jump video:
Gu did just that, earning the first of what she and her many fans in Beijing hope could be three gold medals by cranking out the first 1620 of her career in her final turn, stunning Tess Ledeux of France to win the Olympic debut of women’s freeski big air.
The American-born Gu had never landed the double cork 1620 – a move in which skiers spin 4 1/2 times while rotating twice off-axis while 20-some feet in the air. Not in practice. Not in competition.
Final Jump:
Eighteen-year-old Eileen Gu, who is from San Francisco but competing for China, won the gold medal in her first freestyle skiing event. Nathan Chen, of Team USA, delivered a record-breaking performance in figure skating’s short program.
Alpine skier Ryan Cochran-Siegel became a silver medalist in the super-G 50 years after his mother won gold in slalom. And Jessie Diggins secured bronze for the United States in the women’s cross-country freestyle sprint. It’s the first-ever women’s individual sprint medal for the U.S.
Winning run:
“Even if I didn’t land it, I felt it would send a message out to the world and hopefully encourage more girls to break their own boundaries,” she added. “That was my biggest goal going into my last run. I reminded myself to have fun and enjoy the moment and that, no matter what, I was so grateful to even have this opportunity to even be here.”
Fans filled the stands to cheer for Gu, who was born and raised in California but decided in 2019 to compete for China. Known as the “snow princess” among her Chinese fans, Gu — already a reigning world champion — has become the unofficial face of China’s Olympic ambitions, and saw her popularity skyrocket in the lead-up to the Games.
