Eileen Gu has a stacked résumé, winning six freestyle skiing medals at the Winter Olympics. And now, she's sharing the mental trick that got her there.
The Chinese-American athlete sat down with Jay Shetty on his On Purpose podcast and laid out the psychological framework behind her longevity.
"Train like I've never won and compete like I've never lost," she explained. In practice, that means being ruthlessly self-critical during training, then flipping into full belief the moment she drops in on the competition.
And she's got the results to prove her playbook is working.
Behind Eileen Gu's Unmatched Winter Olympic Record
Gu left the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina with three more medals. She won halfpipe gold plus silver in slopestyle and big air, giving her six across two Games. No freestyle skiing athlete, male or female, owns a track record like that at the Winter Olympics.
Despite that grind, Gu also managed to finish her degree at Stanford between Games. But she maintains that she's still hungry for more wins.
"In order to be a winner, you have to have this insatiable, almost obsessive, religious, all-in mentality," Gu said.
At 22, Gu has already outlasted the competition window of most freestyle skiers, but it sounds like she's nowhere near done with the Olympic podium.
