Eileen Gu Could Make History at the 2022 Beijing Olympics

Eileen Gu got into free-skiing at the budding age of eight. After five years at ski school in Lake Tahoe, she had the choice to continue with either racing or free-skiing. Worried about the perils of ski-racing, Gu's mother opted to enroll her daughteer in free-skiing lessons instead, with limited knowledge on the sport itself. Now, at the age of 18, Eileen Gu is poised to win gold at the Beijing Olympics next month, while representing China. She will compete in all three disciplines: halfpipe, slopestyle, and Big Air. The decision to compete for China rather than the United States was not an easy one. In June of 2019, Gu, then 15, took to Instagram to explain the reasoning behind her decision.

“This was an incredibly tough decision for me to make,” Gu wrote at the time of her switch. “I am proud of my heritage, and equally proud of my American upbringings. The opportunity to help inspire millions of young people where my mom was born, during the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help to promote the sport I love.”

Gu wants to do more than ski—she wants to change the landscape of snow sports forever. In China, snow sports are not widely recognized and hardly exist on a professional level. In an interview with Highsnobiety, Gu revealed, "I wanted to inspire more people to pick up skiing in China because it's brought me so much more than medals." Gu recognizes that the free-skiing inspiration and representation she had during her time growing up in the United States does not exist in China. She aims to be that for the next generation of free-skiiers. 

Not only is Gu working to bring representation to China, she is also working through a fiercely male-dominated space. In her interview with Highsnobiety regarding her previous experience at the 2021 X-Games, Gu explained, “I was the only rookie there. I was also the youngest competitor in my events. Being able to represent young people and represent women was really meaningful to me, as well as being the first person of Chinese descent to win X Games.” 

Along with her desire to bring wins to China to further their snow sports programs, her decision also comes as a way to spark the feeling of connectednes between the two countries—she believes herself to be just as Chinese as she is American—and her decision to compete for China reflects that. 

Gu is not just a snow sports star in China, she has quickly made herself a household name in fashion as well. Having graced the cover of fashion magazines and campaigns for Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co. Gu is also represented by powerhouse agency IMG.