Eileen Gu needed the best jump of her life to win a gold medal. The 18-year-old from California had come to her mother’s home country hoping to win three events at the Winter Olympics while representing China.
Under the glare of a bright sun and the eyes of the international news media, Gu stood on top of the huge, modern big air jump, set in an industrial park amid concrete cooling towers. She was in third place with one jump to go.
Her mother called. Yan Gu, who grew up in Beijing, was at the bottom of the jump, trying to give her daughter advice.
Do the 1440 again, she told her, referring to a four-rotation trick that Gu had landed nearly perfectly already. Maybe it lifts you to a silver medal. Gu had other ideas.
Freestyle Skiing: Women’s Big Air Final ›
RUN 1 |
RUN 2 |
RUN 3 |
FINAL |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
GOLD |
Eileen Gu  China
|
93.75 | 88.50 | 94.50 | 188.25 |
|
SILVER |
Tess Ledeux  France
|
94.50 | 93.00 | 73.50 | 187.50 |
|
BRONZE |
Mathilde Gremaud  Switzerland
|
89.25 | 93.25 | 26.00 | 182.50 |
Gu landed the trick, officially a Left Double 1620 with a safety grab, the first time she had even tried it, she said. It earned enough points to vault her into first. When France’s Tess Ledeux could not match the score, Gu had gold and Ledeux got silver.
As Gu waited for her results, Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee, congratulated her at the finish. When the numbers came in, fans in the grandstands cheered for Gu and waved small Chinese flags.
How Eileen Gu Won Gold in Big Air With Two Giant Jumps
Move by move, here’s a look at the two high-scoring tricks that vaulted Gu to victory. Her final jump was one she had never tried in competition.
Born and raised in California but competing for China, Gu has attracted international attention — and some debate — for her decision in 2019 to represent her mother’s homeland.
Yan Gu, Eileen’s mother, was born in Shanghai and raised in Beijing, the daughter of a government engineer. She emigrated to the United States about 30 years ago for postgraduate studies and settled in San Francisco.
Eileen Gu, raised by her mother in an upscale San Francisco neighborhood, has become a model, representing luxury brands like Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Company. She has so many sponsorships in China that she is a ubiquitous presence in advertisements and receives glowing news coverage from the state media.
Gu has said that she wants to be a bridge between the United States and China while inspiring young women and helping China’s nascent winter-sports industry to grow. She and her mother have declined to discuss any of the thorny geopolitical issues that involve the rival countries.
