Eileen Gu, a 22-year-old freestyle skier, made history at the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics on Sunday by becoming the most decorated athlete in her discipline, despite experiencing personal tragedy. Gu, who was born in San Francisco and competes for China, arrived late to her post-competition press conference after learning about the death of her grandmother, Feng Guozhen.
Gu's performance in the women's freeski halfpipe final at Livigno Snow Park was nothing short of spectacular. She clinched the gold medal with an impressive score of 94.75 on her third run, outperforming her teammate Li Fanghui, who took silver with a 93.00, and Great Britain's Zoe Atkin, who earned bronze with a 92.50. This victory added to her already impressive record of six medals across two Winter Olympic Games.
The young athlete's remarkable achievement has been acknowledged by major outlets, including NBC and Yahoo Sports, emphasizing her status as the most decorated freestyle skier in Olympic history. Gu's total medal count surpasses that of Canada's Mikael Kingsbury. This year in Milan Cortina, she added the halfpipe gold to her silver medals in slopestyle and big air, having been the only skier to compete in and medal in all three events. At the 2022 Beijing Games, Gu took gold in halfpipe and big air, along with a silver in slopestyle.
Despite her record-setting performance, Gu's thoughts during the press conference were with her late grandmother. She reminisced about her grandmother's influential life, describing her as a "steamship" who "commanded life." Gu had promised to emulate her grandmother's bravery, which she correlated to her theme of "betting on myself and being brave and taking risks."
In addition to her athletic achievements, Gu noted the broader impact of her Olympic success. She referenced a Chinese government study that indicated more than 300 million people in China tried snow sports for the first time after her medal wins at the previous Olympics. Gu expressed her belief in the transformative power of sports, especially for girls in China.
Gu, who is currently a student at Stanford University, started her Olympic journey at a young age and is expected to continue her successes in the future, possibly at the 2030 Winter Games in the French Alps.
However, not everyone has celebrated Gu's decisions and achievements. Some individuals on social media have criticized her choice to represent China over the United States, with tweets labeling her a "traitor" and calling for her denaturalization. These comments reflect a polarized reaction to her national allegiance, especially in light of her criticisms of President Donald Trump's views on American athletes who choose to represent other nations.
