Eileen Gu capped her 2026 Olympic run with a bang, as the Chinese freestyle skier won her first gold medal of the Milano-Cortina Games — and the third of her storied career — in the women's halfpipe final on Sunday.
After successfully defending her 2022 halfpipe crown, Gu has now medaled in every Olympic event she's ever attempted, earning three gold and three silver medals at the age of 22.
"The reason I love the records so much is that it's not about man or woman," Gu said. "I'm the most decorated freeskier of all time, male or female."
The San Francisco-born freeski star has become the relatively new Olympic sport's premier global ambassador, entering the 2026 Winter Olympics as its highest-paid athlete while opting to compete for her mother's homeland of China — a choice that ruffled some political feathers.
"Somebody who grew up in the United Sates of America, who benefited from our education system, from the freedoms and liberties that make this country a great place, I would hope they want to compete with the United States of America," Vice President JD Vance told Fox News. "So, I'm going to root for American athletes."
"So many athletes compete for a different country… people only have a problem with me doing it because they kind of lump China into this monolithic entity," Gu said in response. "And also, because I win. Like, if I wasn't doing well, I think that they probably wouldn't care as much, and that's OK for me."
