Eileen Gu

Eileen Feng Gu (born September 3, 2003), also known by her Chinese name Gu Ailing (Chinese: 谷爱凌), is an American-born Olympic gold medalist freestyle skier and model. She has competed for China in halfpipe, slopestyle, and big air events since 2019.

Eileen Gu
Personal information
Native name谷爱凌 (Gǔ Àilíng)
Full nameEileen Feng Gu[1][2]
Born (2003-09-03) September 3, 2003[3]
San Francisco, CA[4]
Sport
Country China USA
SportFreestyle skiing
Event(s)
ClubBeijing Nanshan Ski Resort[5](since 2015)[6]
Medal record
Women's freestyle skiing
Representing  China
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 2 1 0
World Championships 2 0 1
Winter X Games 2 0 1
Winter Youth Olympics 2 1 0
Total 8 2 2
Olympic Games
2022 BeijingBig air
2022 BeijingHalfpipe
2022 BeijingSlopestyle
World Championships
2021 AspenHalfpipe
2021 AspenSlopestyle
2021 AspenBig air
Winter X Games
2021 AspenSuperpipe
2021 AspenSlopestyle
2021 AspenBig air
Winter Youth Olympics
2020 LausanneBig air
2020 LausanneHalfpipe
2020 LausanneSlopestyle
Ailing Eileen Gu
Simplified Chinese谷爱凌
Traditional Chinese谷愛凌

At age 18, Gu became the youngest Olympic champion in freestyle skiing after winning gold medals in big air and halfpipe and a silver medal in slopestyle at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. She is the first freestyle skier to win three medals at a single Winter Olympics. Owing to political tensions between the U.S. and China and a diplomatic boycott of the Games, her decision to compete for China drew international attention.

Early life and education

Gu was born on September 3, 2003, in San Francisco, California, United States,[3] to a Chinese first-generation immigrant mother, Yan Gu (Chinese: 谷燕; pinyin: Gǔ Yàn), and an American father. Her mother raised her as a single parent.[7] A member of the short-track speed skating team and a ski coach, her mother attended Peking University for her undergraduate and master's degrees in chemical engineering.[8] She emigrated to the United States as a student in her twenties, enrolling at Auburn University and Rockefeller University. To pursue an MBA at Stanford University, she moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, where she enrolled Gu in ski lessons at Lake Tahoe and thereby, according to Gu, "accidentally created a pro skier.".[9]

In 2021, Gu graduated early from secondary school and was recognized as a candidate for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program as a nominee from San Francisco University High School.[10][1][11] She earned early admittance to Stanford University, her mother's alma mater, in December 2020,[12] and will begin her studies in the fall of 2022.[13][9][12]

Nationality

Gu competed for the United States at the 2018–19 FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup. She has competed for China since June 2019 after requesting a change of nation with the International Ski Federation.[3][14][15][16] Her goal was to compete for China in the 2022 Winter Olympics.[16][17][18] She announced the change on Instagram, stating that through skiing she hopes "to help inspire millions of young people" in China and "to unite people, promote common understanding, create communication, and forge friendships between nations."[16][17]

Gu has declined to disclose her citizenship. Chinese nationality law does not recognize dual citizenship, and the Chinese Consulate General in New York told the BBC that Gu would have to have been naturalized or gained permanent residency status in China to compete for its team.[19] The International Olympic Committee confirmed that the Chinese Olympic Committee had presented them with a copy of her Chinese passport as proof of Chinese nationality acquired in 2019.[20] There is no evidence that she has given up U.S. citizenship[21] and some evidence that she has not.[22] In interviews, Gu has said, "Nobody can deny I'm American, nobody can deny I'm Chinese,"[23] and "When I'm in the U.S., I'm American, but when I'm in China, I'm Chinese."[24][25]

Career
Her second run in the Women's Freeski Halfpipe Qualification at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics
Her first run at Women's Freeski Big Air Qualification, 2022 Olympics

In 2021, Gu became the first woman to land a forward double cork 1440.[26]

X Games
See also: X Games

At the 2021 Winter X Games, Gu won a bronze medal in Big Air and two gold medals in SuperPipe and Slopestyle, becoming the first rookie to win a gold medal in Women's Ski SuperPipe, the first rookie to medal in three events, and the first athlete representing China to win a gold medal at the X Games.[27][28][29]

World Championships
See also: FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships

Gu competed at the FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championships 2021, winning two gold medals in Freeski Halfpipe and Freeski Slopestyle and a bronze medal in Freeski Big Air. Gu became the first freeskier to win two golds at the FIS Freeski World Championship.[30][31] She competed without poles for the first time due to a broken hand, having fractured a finger and tearing the UCL in her thumb.[32][33][34]

2022 Winter Olympics
See also: 2022 Winter Olympics

At the 2022 Winter Olympics, Gu became the youngest gold medalist in freestyle skiing, winning the big air event, the first to be held at the Olympics.[35] Gu landed a double cork 1620, her first attempt in competition.[36] She was the second woman to land the trick and the first woman to land a left-turn 1620;[37] Tess Ledeux first successfully completed a double cork 1620 on 21 January 2022 at the X Games in Aspen, Colorado [38] and landed it again in her first run of the big air final at the 2022 Winter Olympics.[39][40]

Gu won the silver medal in the slopestyle event.[41] She won a second gold medal in the women's freeski halfpipe competition, becoming the first freestyle skier to win three medals at a Winter Olympics.[42][43]

World Cup results
See also: FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup

Gu ended the 2021-2022 World Cup season with a perfect record in women's halfpipe, taking her first career crystal globe and becoming the first freestyle skier to win four consecutive World Cup competitions.[44][45][46] She claimed her second crystal globe in the same season, placing first in Park & Pipe overall.[47]

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation.[48]

Representing Season Date Location Discipline Place
United States 2018–2019 January 12, 2019 Font Romeu, France Slopestyle 2nd
January 27, 2019 Seiser Alm, Italy Slopestyle 1st
China 2019–2020 September 7, 2019 Cardrona, New Zealand Halfpipe 2nd
February 14, 2020 Calgary, Canada Halfpipe 1st
February 15, 2020 Calgary, Canada Slopestyle 1st
2020–2021 November 21, 2020 Stubai, Austria Slopestyle 3rd
2021–2022 December 4, 2021 Steamboat, United States Big Air 1st
December 10, 2021 Copper Mountain, United States Halfpipe 1st
December 30, 2021 Calgary, Canada Halfpipe 1st
January 1, 2022 Calgary, Canada Halfpipe 1st
January 8, 2022 Mammoth Mountain, United States Halfpipe 1st
January 9, 2022 Mammoth Mountain, United States Slopestyle 2nd

Results current through 1 February 2022.

Modeling and endorsements

Gu is represented by IMG Models.[11][12] She has appeared on the covers of magazines such as the Chinese editions of Harper's Bazaar, Elle, Cosmopolitan, GQ, Marie Claire, V, L'Officiel, and Vogue.[2][12][49] Gu has been featured in campaigns for Fendi, Gucci,[12] IWC Schaffhausen,[50] Tiffany & Co., and Louis Vuitton.[11][12][50] She is a founding member of the VS Collective.[51][52]

Gu's status as a leading sports star in China is reported to have earned her over US$30 million in endorsements and advertising contracts.[42][53][54]

Personal life

Gu was raised by her mother and maternal grandparents, and speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese and English.[55][56] She plays the piano as a hobby.[11]

Political views

During the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Gu has spoken out against anti-Asian racism after the 2021 Atlanta spa shootings and the killing of Vicha Ratanapakdee.[57] She has described her own experience with anti-Asian racism, having endured a man screaming obscenities about "Asians infecting America" with COVID-19 at her and her grandmother in a shop.[57][58] Gu also supports the Black Lives Matter movement.[55][59] Gu has largely declined to comment on political topics involving China, including the country's human rights record.[60][61] Gu's agent Tom Yaps told The Economist that Gu's mother, Yan Gu, feared that "if [Eileen] participates in an article that has two paragraphs critical of China and human rights, that would put her in jeopardy over there. One thing and a career is ruined."[57]

See also

References
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  3. "Eileen Gu". Red Bull. Archived from the original on September 8, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
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  22. Larmer, Brook (February 3, 2022). "Cold warrior: why Eileen Gu ditched Team USA to ski for China". The Economist. Retrieved February 21, 2022. Her name has never appeared on the US Treasury Department’s list of expatriated individuals. In January 2021, she became a candidate for a US Presidential Scholars Programme that is open only to US citizens or permanent residents. Gu still spends far more time in America than in China, and will return to attend Stanford in the autumn.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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