Eileen Gu: Competing has ‘taught me how to cope with fear,’ says Chinese freestyle skiing star

Sport 18 January, 2024 17:35

Eileen Gu knows what it’s like to stand on her own. Whether it be at the top of a skiing course before a run or as the trailblazing figure she is, Gu’s blossoming career is a testament to her resilience.

And her next mountain to climb is the Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Gangwon, South Korea – which begin this Friday – with an eye firmly set on the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.

Representing China, Gu became the youngest-ever Olympic champion in freestyle skiing at the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022 at just 18, but it was in Lausanne – at the Winter YOG 2020 – where her rise to stardom truly gathered momentum.

Gu picked up gold in both the Big Air and Halfpipe events, as well as silver in the Slopestyle, before matching that record two years later in Beijing. Her exploits, both on and off the slopes, led to her recently being named the Global Ambassador for Gangwon 2024.

“It really is the only event where athletes from different sports will come together and compete under the five rings and really have this sense of unity, of crossover, of sportsmanship and friendship – especially with people your age,” the 20-year-old Gu told CNN Sport.

“It really is a formative experience and is something that kind of stokes the spark in you, hopefully for the Olympics in two years.” Gu’s journey from the YOG to Olympic champion is nothing short of remarkable, especially for an athlete at the very beginning of their career with so much, both in the world of sport and outside of it, to contend with.

Gu hasn’t just excelled on the slopes; graduating from high school a year early, she was admitted to Stanford University, and somehow finds a way to balance competing and studying. So, along with aims for triumphs in World Cups in Switzerland and Canada, the phenom hopes for parallel success in her academic performance in 2024.