Eileen Gu: The freestyle skier who owns the spotlight

Eileen Gu has been one of the most captivating figures of this year’s Winter Olympics, with her support, extraordinary talent, and unshakable confidence capturing headlines around the world.

At just 22-years-old, she is already the most decorated female Olympic freestyle skier in history, but where did it all begin for Gu?

Gu was born in San Francisco, California, in 2003 to an American father and a Chinese mother. Raised between the United States and China, she grew up fluent in Mandarin and closely connected to both cultures. She began skiing at just three years old in Lake Tahoe, inspired by her mother, and quickly showed exceptional promise on the slopes.

As a teenager, Gu rose rapidly through the junior ranks, specialising in halfpipe, slopestyle and big air. In 2019, she made the controversial decision to compete for China, a move that drew international attention and significantly elevated her profile in China.

In the US, however, she faced criticism over her decision to switch sporting allegiances. Some American fans took issue with her benefiting from the U.S. training system while choosing to compete for a geopolitical rival, a move that sparked debate beyond the boundaries of sport.

Despite her decision to compete for China rather than her country of birth, Gu has continued to express deep affection for the US, embracing both sides of her heritage with pride.

"Sometimes it feels like I'm carrying the weight of two countries on my shoulders," Gu said earlier in the 2026 Games.

Whilst previously explaining the part of the reasoning behind the decision was to "inspire millions of young people in Beijing, my mother's birthplace.”

Gu’s breakthrough on the global stage came at the 2021 X Games Aspen, where she claimed multiple medals and established herself as one of freestyle skiing’s most exciting young talents.

Her superstardom was cemented at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, where she won two gold medals and one silver, becoming the most decorated female freestyle skier of the Games. A dramatic, high-difficulty final run in the big air final captured worldwide headlines and showcased both her technical brilliance and confidence whilst under pressure.

Her achievements on the slops in 2022 saw he included in Time’s magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Now Gu is back, once again commanding global attention after securing a double silver at the 2026 Games, further strengthening her legacy as one of the most decorated female Olympic freestyle skiers in history with even more medals still up for grabs in Milano Cortina.

"I just like being the best. I've always wanted to do that," said Gu. "I wanted to be the best at math when I was in kindergarten, and then I wanted to get into the best high school, and I wanted to have the highest SAT score, and then I wanted to get to the best college, and I wanted to be the best skier I could be.

"Then I wanted to do every event, and then I wanted to win them all. When you get a taste of it, it's kind of addictive."

After events, Gu is the athlete every media outlet rushes to speak with, knowing that her words are almost certain to make headlines.

Gu’s fiery personality was on full display after winning her two silver medals, as she pushed back against a reporter who asked whether she saw her achievements at this year’s Games as “two golds lost” rather than “two silvers earned.”

"I'm the most decorated female freeskier in history. I think that's an answer in and of itself," she said whilst smiling.

"How do I say this? Winning a medal at the Olympics is a life-changing experience for every athlete. Doing it five times is exponentially harder because every medal is equally hard for me but everybody else's expectations rise, right?

"So the two medals lost situation, to be quite frank with you, I think is kind of a ridiculous perspective to take.

"I'm showcasing my best skiing, I'm doing things that quite literally have never been done before so I think that is more than good enough. But thank you."

Beyond her Olympic success, Gu has built a career that stretches far beyond sport. As a model, Stanford student and global brand ambassador, she has become a cultural icon as well as an elite athlete.