Eileen Gu Reflects on Milan Cortina Games, ‘Dream’ of Growing Visibility in Her Sport

Eileen Gu is on top of the world. With her achievements during the Milan Cortina Games, the 22-year-old professional athlete is now the most decorated freeskier in Olympic history.

Gu, who competes on behalf of the People’s Republic of China, secured gold in the women’s Halfpipe, as well as silver in the Women’s Slopestyle and Big Air events in Italy last month. During her Winter Games debut in Beijing in 2022, the San Francisco native took home two golds (in Big Air and Halfpipe) and one silver (in Slopestyle).

Following the Closing Ceremony of the Olympics on Feb. 22, Gu immediately made appearances at Milan Fashion Week, showing no signs of slowing down any time soon. However, earlier today, March 2, the professional athlete took to Instagram to reflect upon her achievements in the sport, both at the Winter Games and more broadly.

Gu opened her caption by stating hat she “gave [her] first speech on women in sports and title IX when [she] was 11 years old.” She went on to share that she took the opportunity to speak out on being the only girl on her ski team, and from a young age, understood that there was a lack of representation in her sport.

Gu then detailed why, at the age of 15, she made the decision to compete for China. She wrote, in part, that doing so “meant the opportunity to uplift others through the universal culture of sport, and to introduce freeskiing to hundreds of millions of people who had never heard of it, especially with the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics around the corner.”

Later, the Stanford University student mused about how much has changed over the course of the last several years where visibility and inclusion in her sport is concerned.

“I can look back now, at 22, and tell 12 year old Eileen that there are now terrain parks full of little girls, who will never doubt their place in the sport,” Gu wrote. “I can tell 15 year old me that there are now millions of girls who have started skiing since then, in China and worldwide. A lot of people won’t understand or believe that I made a decision to create the greatest amount of positive impact on the world stage that I could, at this age, given my interests and passions. Three golds and six medals later, I can confidently say [what was] was once a dream is now a reality.”

Accompanying her powerful message were several images of Gu from the Milan Cortina Games, starting with an incredible photo of the athlete airborne while performing a trick.

“At first glance I thought this was a picture of shooting star or satellite in the sky. Then I realized it was you and realized I was right. 💫 keep shooting for the stars girl we see youuuuu!” one of Gu’s 4.4 million followers commented.

“So proud of you, Eileen! What an incredible journey,” someone else wrote. You're a true inspiration to girls everywhere. Congrats on everything! 🤍👏✨.”

“This is Eileen Gu's era. You are changing the world. Changing the rules,” another stated. “Let's say it again: You're the best and the bravest.🙌.”

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