Between elite athlete, model and student, Eileen Gu redefines modern sport and paves the way for future Chinese female skiers
Eileen Ailing Gu was born in September 2003 in San Francisco, United States, to an American father and a Chinese mother. She is currently studying at Stanford University. From a young age, she demonstrated a prodigious talent for skiing. Eileen began skiing at the age of three and became a junior champion of the American Snowboard and Freeski Association.
Her sports career has not been without difficulties. She was the only girl on her first freestyle ski teams and had to face sexist remarks.
In January 2019, at just 15 years old, she achieved her first victory at the FIS Freeski World Cup in the slopestyle event in Italy. Gu successfully managed to balance her sporting career with her academic studies.
In June 2019, Eileen decided to change her sporting nationality and compete under the Chinese flag, after previously representing the United States. This choice can be explained by her cultural attachment to her maternal roots and her desire to promote freestyle skiing in China, a sport that is still relatively unknown in the country. The athlete is fluent in Mandarin and aims to raise the profile of her discipline and inspires young girls.
However, this decision had consequences. She faced heavy criticism for choosing to represent China rather than the United States, where she was born and raised. The criticism intensified during the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina. Some American conservatives labeled the young skier a “traitor”.
Gu has established herself as one of the most outstanding athletes of her generation and has made history in acrobatic skiing in the disciplines of halfpipe, big air and slopestyle. At just 22 years old, she reached the podium six times across two editions of the Winter Olympics, in 2022 and 2026. She won a total of six medals, three gold and three silver, becoming the most decorated freestyle skier in Olympic history.
But Eileen Gu’s success is not limited to her sporting career. The Chinese-American superstar is also a fashion icon (having appeared on the covers of TIME and Vogue) and collaborates with major brands such as Red Bull. She has redefined modern sport by combining elite-level skiing with academic studies, modeling and entrepreneurship.
Eileen inspires the next generation. She demonstrates that high-level sport can be combined with other personal ambitions and paves the way for future great Chinese female athletes in acrobatic skiing.