View source for Eileen Gu - The 'snow Princess' Who Divides Opinion

<br>[https://m1bar.com/user/BarrettGtt/ ByKatie Falkingham]<br>BBC Sport [https://targetlink.asklink.org/The-Bet-9Ja-Promo-Code-for-2026-is-YOHAIG_313506.html Senior Journalist] in Livigno<br><br><br>Updated 22 February 2026<br><br><br>Wherever [http://ml-dc.de/index.php?title=Benutzer:DominikM20 Eileen Gu] goes, her fans will follow. Headlines will too.<br><br><br>With 6 medals, [https://wiki.internzone.net/index.php?title=Benutzer:SammyPiguenit3 consisting] of 3 golds - the 3rd of which she won in Sunday's [https://www.bardjo.ru/top/index.php?a=stats&u=britneyrowan halfpipe -] she is the most embellished freestyle skier in the [https://karabast.com/wiki/index.php/User:OdessaDetwiler history] of the Games.<br><br><br>But she is likewise somebody who transcends her sport, a 22[https://bigbrain.center/wiki/User:YukikoTolmie22 -year-old international] superstar with a bank balance to make your eyes water.<br><br><br>China fell in love with its 'snow princess' at the [http://www.annunciogratis.net/author/shaystrouse Beijing] 2022 Olympics where, as the poster girl of the Games, she duly provided.<br><br><br>She became freestyle skiing's youngest Olympic [https://wiki.heycolleagues.com/index.php/User:KevinFajardo16 champion] with her huge air and halfpipe golds at the age of 18, and the very first to win three medals at the exact same Games when she included slopestyle silver.<br><br><br>Later that year, she was called among Time publication's 100 most prominent individuals on the planet.<br><br><br>"I similar to being the very best. I have actually constantly wanted to do that," said Gu at the Milan-Cortina Olympics, where she earlier won [https://www.garagesale.es/author/jaquelinebu/ silver medals] in the huge air and slopestyle.<br><br><br>"I desired to be the best at math when I was in kindergarten, and then I desired to enter into the finest high school, and I desired to have the highest SAT score, and after that I desired to get to the very best college, and I wanted to be the finest skier I might be.<br><br><br>"Then I desired to do every occasion, and after that I wanted to win them all. When you get a taste of it, it's kind of addictive."<br><br><br>The 2 Chinese-American Olympians contending for rival superpowers<br><br><br>13 February<br><br><br>On and off skis, Gu is a high achiever in every part of her world.<br><br><br>California-born and raised by an American dad and Chinese mom, she attended personal school in San Francisco and is presently taking a sabbatical from her research studies at Stanford University, where she majors in international relations and formerly studied quantum physics.<br><br><br>She is also fluent in Mandarin, and as a kid would invest summer seasons in Beijing.<br><br><br>"Sometimes it seems like I'm bring the weight of 2 nations on my shoulders," Gu stated earlier in the 2026 Games.<br><br><br>In 2019, at the age of simply 15, she changed her sporting allegiance from the US to China, desiring to "influence countless youths in Beijing - my mother's birth place" before the 2022 Olympics.<br><br><br>Whatever her reasoning, it was a decision that proved financially rewarding.<br><br><br>In December, Forbes ranked Gu as the fourth-highest paid female athlete for 2025, behind just tennis gamers Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek.<br><br><br>But unlike those 3, just a small quantity of her $23.1 m (₤ 17.1 m) earnings last year came from cash prize from her sport - around $100,000 (₤ 74,000).<br><br><br>Instead, it comes through recommendations with brands such as Red Bull, Porsche and Tiffany & Co, while she has actually walked the runway for Louis Vuitton and Victoria's Secret and is signed by designing firm IMG.<br><br><br>It likewise emerged in 2025, as reported in the Wall Street Journal, external, that Gu and another professional athlete were set to be paid a combined $6.6 m (₤ 4.9 m) by the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau.<br><br><br>In total, the 2 athletes were stated to be paid almost $14m (₤ 10.4 m) over the previous three years by the Bureau.<br><br><br>But her choice to contend for China was also one that drew much criticism, not even if of China and the US' competition as the world's 2 biggest economies, however since of China's authoritarian Communist Party rulers and its bad record on human rights - which it denies.<br><br><br>While the initial furore passed away down, it has actually raised its head again at these Games.<br><br><br>At the start of the Olympics, American freestyle skier Hunter Hess spoke up about the actions of the United States' Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) organisation and continuous tensions in the US.<br><br><br>In January, extensive care nurse Alex Pretti, 37, and fellow Minnesota resident Renee Good, 37, were both eliminated by ICE agents in the city, stimulating prevalent demonstrations.<br><br><br>Asked what it indicates to represent the USA, Hess said: "It's a little tough.<br><br><br>"Just since I'm using the flag doesn't suggest I represent whatever that's going on in the US."<br><br><br>[https://wolvesbaneuo.com/wiki/index.php/User:MohamedStacy09 President Donald] [https://wikibuilding.org/index.php?title=User:IreneFifer09 Trump reacted] to Hess' remark by [https://www.ge.infn.it/wiki//gpu/index.php?title=The_BET_9ja_Promo_Code_For_2026_Is_YOHAIG calling] him a "genuine loser", and Gu was one of a number of professional athletes who publicly defended Hess and others [https://wikifad.francelafleur.com/Utilisateur:VerenaAuld01167 speaking] out.<br><br><br>"As someone who's been caught in the crossfire in the past, I pity the athletes," she stated.<br><br><br>But that [https://emcommwiki.org/index.php/User:VanceL2758170 enraged] her critics, provided Gu selected to speak up versus Trump but has never criticised China.<br><br><br>Former NBA gamer Enes Kanter Freedom called her a "traitor", adding she "was born in America, raised in America, resides in America and selected to compete versus her own country for the worst human rights abuser on earth - China".<br><br><br>"You don't get to take pleasure in the flexibilities of US citizenship while acting as a worldwide PR possession for the Chinese Communist Party," he wrote on X.<br><br><br>When asked about [https://mediawiki.weopensoft.com/index.php/Utilisateur:AudraLewin617 China's human] rights record by Time magazine, external, in an interview released in January, she addressed: "I'm not a professional on this.<br><br><br>"I haven't done the research study. I don't believe it's my organization."<br><br><br>A 'ridiculous perspective' and 'frustrating choices'<br> <br><br>Gu has 2.6 m followers on Instagram, has actually generated 11.7 m likes on TikTok, and at the Livigno Snow Park high up in the Italian Alps, no professional athlete has more fans in participation.<br><br><br>Clad in the red colours of China, they line the front of the fan locations, flags embellished with images of Gu's face pegged to the fences, and commemorate her every run like it has actually clinched Olympic gold.<br><br><br>After every run, the ever-driven and disciplined Gu looks for her mom, Yan, to evaluate video footage on her phone. Yan, reportedly a successful venture capitalist who brought her child up single-handledly, is accredited at the Games and is the first individual Gu commemorates her successes with.<br><br><br>During Monday's big air last, Yan was seen enjoying along with previous International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach.<br><br><br>After competitors, Gu is the one every media outlet wishes to talk to, and she gracefully and nicely requires as she slowly mixes through the mixed zone.<br><br><br>But it was from a press conference earlier this week that her remarks to a journalist went viral, when she was asked if she felt her 2 silver medals were really 2 golds lost.<br><br><br>"I'm the most [https://45.76.249.136/index.php?title=User:AraTrent61940 embellished female] [http://yidtravel.com/mw/index.php/User:KathleenWithnell freeskier] in history. I believe that's an answer in and of itself," she responded.<br><br><br>"How do I state this? [https://wiki.learning4you.org/index.php?title=User:AnneYee6956415 Winning] a medal at the Olympics is a life-changing experience for every [https://hiddenwiki.co/index.php?title=User:TamiStanbury0 professional] athlete. Doing it five times is greatly harder since every medal is similarly hard for me but everyone else's expectations increase, right?<br><br><br>"So the two medals lost situation, to be rather frank with you, I think is type of a ludicrous point of view to take.<br><br><br>"I'm [https://karensanten.com/the-day-starts-with-a-coffe/?unapproved=689793&moderation-hash=5460b45223dbc503154223e6cb529d19 showcasing] my finest snowboarding, I'm doing things that quite actually have actually never been done before so I think that is more than sufficient. But thank you."<br><br><br>In the lead-up to the Games, Gu did interviews with the similarity Vogue and Time publication, but it was reports in the Swiss media, external that had the prospective to additional fuel a competitive rivalry at the top of the sport.<br><br><br>It was reported that the coach of Swiss skier Mathilde Gremaud left her group to sign up with Gu's on the eve of the Games, just as he had four years earlier before Beijing 2022.<br><br><br>At those Games, Gremaud pipped Gu to slopestyle gold, while Gu won the big air title with Gremaud taking bronze.<br><br><br>This time around, Gremaud once again won slopestyle gold, with Gu taking silver, while the Swiss star withdrew from the big air after a crash, with Gu going on to complete second once again.<br><br><br>Before that huge air last and as an outcome of reaching it, Gu had required to Instagram to highlight a scheduling concern.<br><br><br>It meant, as the only lady contending in three freeski occasions, she would miss out on a complete day of halfpipe training. After appealing to the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) for another chance to train, she stated she had actually been turned down.<br><br><br>"This decision is disappointing to me because it seems to oppose the spirit of the Games," she stated.<br><br><br>"Daring to be the only lady to compete in three  must not be punished. Making finals in one event must not disadvantage me in another."<br><br><br>BBC Sport comprehends Gu had actually currently been handpicked as one of 10 athletes - five men, 5 women - welcomed to a halfpipe screening training session, while having three main training sessions is more than the normal 2 held before World Cups.<br><br><br>In a declaration, FIS told BBC Sport: "For [http://wiki.rumpold.li/index.php?title=Benutzer:RodManna5719 professional athletes] who select to contend in multiple disciplines and/or multiple occasions, disputes can sometimes be [http://mail.addgoodsites.com/details.php?id=715417 inescapable]."<br><br><br>So severe is Gu taking these Olympics that she has actually brought 21 pairs of skis with her to Livigno, 7 per occasion. Asked by BBC Sport the number of she would generally require to a competition, she responded two or 3.<br><br><br>She qualified fifth for the halfpipe last, which was later on held off from Saturday to Sunday due to heavy snowfall, and looked below par in her opening run when she crashed on her first technique.<br><br><br>Gu redeemed herself on the second run, though, publishing a 94.00 rating that moved her to the top of the podium, and bettered it once again to 94.75 on her final effort to defend her title.<br><br><br>Compatriot Li Fanghui took silver, while Great Britain's Zoe Atkin won bronze.<br><br><br>"I am not a gaming female, however if I were, I took a quite huge bet on myself," stated Gu.<br><br><br>"There was a possibility that whatever could go incorrect, and I would leave with nothing because I'm [https://mediawiki1334.00web.net/index.php/User:EdwardShipley8 attempting] to do [http://topsite.otaku-attitude.net/index.php?a=stats&u=stantonleedom excessive]. But in my head I was like, 'Even if whatever [https://wiki.knihovna.cz/index.php/Diskuse_s_u%C5%BEivatelem:Jeannie26Q crashes] and burns, I attempted, and I will never ever be sorry for trying'. <br><br><br>"It's not hesitating to try, particularly as girls too, because a lot of the time we get in our own method and there's this sense of, 'What if people make fun of me? What if I look dumb? What if it's not possible?'.<br><br><br>"It's [https://higgledy-piggledy.xyz/index.php/User:IngeDunkel0148 trusting] yourself to attempt, and if it does not work, that's OK. But who knows? Shoot for the stars."<br><br><br>Day-by-day guide to the Winter Olympics<br><br><br>22 February<br><br><br>Full schedule consisting of times of medal events<br><br><br>Winter Olympics 2026 medal table<br><br><br>Winter Olympics 2026<br><br><br>6-22 February<br><br><br>Milan-Cortina<br><br><br>Watch on iPlayerListen on Sounds<br><br><br>Watch two live streams and highlights on BBC iPlayer (UK just), updates on BBC Radio 5 Live and live text commentary and video highlights on the BBC Sport website and app.<br><br><br>Full coverage guide<br><br><br>Winter Sports<br><br><br>Winter Olympics<br>