It was supposed to be one of the best days in freestyle superstar Eileen Gu’s career. But a short time after their historic gold trip with the Winter Olympics The 22-year-old Chinese woman sat crying at the press conference and reported that she had just found out about her grandmother’s death.

“The last time I saw her, before I went to the Olympics, she was very sick, so I knew this was a possibility. I didn’t promise her that I would win, but I promised her that I would be brave, like she was brave,” the Chinese woman said in a shaky voice. “She was a really important part of my life growing up and someone I really looked up to. She was a fighter.”

Gu is crowned the most successful freestyler

Their previous historic gold trip was pushed far into the background. The 22-year-old Chinese woman prevailed in the halfpipe final ahead of her compatriot Fanghui Li and Zoe Atkin from Great Britain and won her third Olympic title. Gu won twice at her home games in Beijing in 2022.

“I am the most successful freeskier of all time, including men and women. I have the most gold medals of all time, including men and women. This is a testament to competitive strength, to mental strength,” Gu had proudly announced immediately after the race. She was able to show the world the best that women’s skiing currently has to offer.

Gu also shared a pre-competition diary entry: “I wrote about self-confidence. I phrased it as I’m going to run the course of my life. It’s about presenting my life and my life’s work to the world at the moment when it matters.”

Several million followers on Instagram

After a mistake at the start, Gu demonstrated her class in the second and third rounds. The American-born woman jumped almost four meters into the air and impressed with impressive tricks. After the race, she sank into the snow, then Gu fell into her mother’s arms. Gu is one of the most dazzling freestyle athletes and has several million followers on social networks.

Due to bad weather, the final in Livigno was postponed from Saturday to Sunday. A German starter did not take part in the fight for the halfpipe medals; Sabrina Cakmakli had already been eliminated in the qualification.

Gu laughs at reporter’s question

The 22-year-old won the silver medal in Big Air and Slopestyle – and caused a stir at the subsequent press conference. When asked by a reporter whether she saw her second-place finishes as two silver medals won or two gold medals lost, Gu explained that she is the most decorated freestyle skier in history.

The Chinese woman laughed loudly at the question and called the prospect of losing two medals “a pretty ridiculous point of view.” She shows her best skiing, stands for tricks that have never been done before and that is more than good enough.