Milano Cortina 2026 – Eileen Gu’s story of perseverance towards the podium
In an afternoon defined by the finest of margins, Gu had a plethora of supporters on the snow in Livigno. From her mother, who gave her daughter a warm maternal embrace at the finish line, to the scores of Chinese fans lined up in the fan zone.
After winning two medals at her home Games in Beijing, the skier has truly been tested in her meteoric rise through the current Olympic cycle. Hate mail and death threats are rife, which Gu has always risen above to represent herself on the biggest stage.
“I’m proud of how much stronger I’ve gotten,” she explained. “My life has never gotten easier. It’s only gotten harder, but I’ve only gotten stronger and I’ve learned how to deal with things that no 22-year-old should have to deal with… I was attacked on my school campus, physically assaulted. I have gone through so many things beyond the normal injuries, doubt, fear and pressure that come inherent to the sport.”
Gu will go for gold again in the halfpipe and big air events, her slopestyle silver just the start of the San Francisco-born athlete’s journey at Milano Cortina 2026. Two more shots at gold and two more opportunities to rise above the noise.
The two-time Olympic champion continued: “I’ve emerged so much stronger and so much more sure of myself, and especially as a young woman, that it’s such a powerful place to be in the world, to know who you are and to trust yourself.
“I owe so much to sport for that because when you’re truly pushing the human limit and you’re looking danger in the eye every single day, you learn to love yourself in a new way, which is really special.”