Eileen Gu arrived late to her post-competition press conference at the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics on Sunday, and the reason had nothing to do with skiing.
The 22-year-old explained she was late because she had just learned her grandmother, Feng Guozhen, had passed away.
Gu, who was born in San Francisco but competes for China, her mother’s homeland, has now earned six medals across two Winter Olympic Games.
Her repeat halfpipe gold makes her the single-most decorated freestyle skier, man or woman, in Games history, according to NBC.
The 22-year-old put down an unbeatable 94.75 on her third run of the women’s freeski halfpipe final at Livigno Snow Park.
After scrapping her first run, Gu opened her second with a giant 12.5-foot 900 Buick, then linked a 900 and a 700 with tail grabs plus a switch 700 before closing with massive back-to-back alley-oop flat 500s for a 94.00.
She cleaned up the same line on her third run to post a 94.75, reported NBC.
She finished ahead of her Chinese teammate Li Fanghui, who scored a 93.00 to take silver, and Great Britain’s Zoe Atkin, who earned bronze with a score of 92.50.
No other freeskier, man or woman, has won as many medals as Gu, who is the only athlete to have competed in all the park and pipe events at the Olympics.
That total surpasses Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury to make her the most decorated freestyle skier in Olympic history, reported Yahoo Sports.
The outlet further noted that in Milan Cortina, Gu added her gold in the halfpipe to silver medals she had already earned in slopestyle and big air. She was the only freestyle skier to compete in all three events, let alone earn medals in each of them.
At the 2022 Beijing Games, Gu took gold in halfpipe and big air, along with a silver in slopestyle.
Despite the record-setting performance, Gu’s remarks at the press conference centered first on her late grandmother.
Gu’s middle name, Feng, is a tribute to her grandmother.
Gu described her grandmother as someone who stood apart from those who simply cruise through life. “She was a steamship,” Gu said.
“This woman commanded life, and she grabbed it by the reins, and she made it into what she wanted it to be.”
Gu told reporters she had known this moment was a possibility.
“The last time I saw her before I came to the Olympics, she was very sick, so I knew that this was a possibility,” Gu said.
Gu added, “I didn’t promise her that I was going to win but I did promise her that I was going to be brave like she has been brave, and that’s why I keep referring to this theme of betting on myself and being brave and taking risks.”
Gu stated after her victory, “The reason I love the records so much is that it’s not about man or woman. I’m the most decorated freeskier of all time, male or female. I have the most gold medals ever, male or female.”
“That’s a testament to competitive strength, it’s mental strength. It’s being able to perform under pressure.”
Gu also cited a Chinese government study saying more than 300 million people in China have tried snow sports for the first time since she captured her three medals at the last Olympics.
“There are girls in China whose lives are going to be touched by the beautiful and wonderful power of sport,” Gu said.
“That, in and of itself, is absolutely measured impact that I think I had always wanted.”
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Gu was born and raised in San Francisco and is currently attending Stanford University, according to media reports.
Beginning her Olympic career at such a young age, it appears more than likely that Gu will add to her impressive medal total in four years at the 2030 Winter Games in the French Alps.
