China’s Eileen Gu made Olympic history Sunday as the most decorated freestyle skier ever with her latest gold, but her victory came with fresh grief upon her grandmother’s death.
Under the cold but sunny skies in Livigno at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, Gu successfully defended her women’s free-ski halfpipe title with a final-run score of 94.75.
The gold added to the two silver medals she had already claimed in slopestyle and big air earlier in the Games, bringing her Olympic total to six medals across two editions.
The 22-year-old had entered the halfpipe final with the weight of expectation and a gold-medal image set as her phone wallpaper.
But the victory became emotional when she learned right after the competition that her grandmother had died.
Bravery amid personal loss and grief
During a press conference, her triumph took on a different tone when Gu arrived late.
In a video shared by CNN, she appeared in tears as she addressed reporters.
“The reason I was late is that I just found out that my grandma passed away,” she said.
“She was a really big part of my life growing up and someone I looked up to immensely.”
She explained that her grandmother had been gravely ill before the Games.
Gu said she understood that death was a possibility, but instead of promising her grandmother victory, she made a different vow.
“I didn’t promise her that I was going to win, but I did promise her that I was going to be brave like she has been,” Gu said.
That promise, she explained, strengthened her willingness to risk three events and compete.
“It actually goes back to that promise that I made to my grandma,” she said.
“And so I’m happy that I was able to uphold that and hopefully do her proud.”
Gu strikes triumphant gold after two silvers
On her opening run, Gu lost speed and momentum after landing her first 900-degree spin, according to Xinhua news agency.
She regrouped in her second attempt, landing back-to-back 900s cleanly and delivering her routine with precision to post 94.00 points and take the lead.
In the final round, she improved to 94.75, sealing her third Olympic gold medal and her place atop freestyle skiing’s record books.
“That’s something that I am so proud of, it’s unbelievable to me, still surreal,” Gu said.
“Going six (medals) for six (starts) is pretty crazy.”
She also defeated her Chinese teammate Li Fanghui, who finished with a score of 93.00, while Zoe Atkin of Britain won bronze.
“Every day I was fighting,” Gu told AFP. “I gave my all every single day that I’ve been here, and that’s no joke.
“In all three events I showcased my best skiing and as far as performance goes, that’s all I can ask for – to be able to show the world the best that women’s skiing has to offer at the moment, that it really counts.”
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Pushing against expectations
Before winning gold, Gu faced a brief, viral controversy due to one of her answers in an Agence-France-Presse interview.
Last Monday, following her two silver medals in Milan-Cortina, an AFP journalist asked her whether she saw it as “two silvers gained or two golds lost.”
Gu dismissed the issue with a laugh, pointing out that she is currently the most decorated female freestyle skier in Olympic history.
“I think that’s an answer in and of itself,” said the skier.
“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.”
“The two medals lost situation, to be quite frank with you, I think is kind of a ridiculous perspective to take,” she said.
Dual identities, life beyond the slopes
Gu Eileen, whose Chinese name is Gu Ailing, is a 22-year-old Chinese-American born and raised in San Francisco to a Chinese immigrant mother and American father.
She began her athletic career playing for the United States. But in 2019, she made a choice to switch to China.
This sparked divided opinions and backlash from her country of birth, but Gu defended her decision, stating, “I’m just as American as I am Chinese.”
Outside competitions and elite sports, Gu also studies at Stanford while having a career in modelling, fronting major Chinese and Western brands in global endorsement campaigns.
She also became the fourth-highest earning female athlete in the world, with reported earnings of $23.1 million in 2025, according to The New York Times.
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