Eileen Gu wrapped up another brilliant Olympic campaign by adding three medals to her storied career in Milan, establishing herself as one of the greatest freestyle skiers in history. Gu, who was born in San Francisco, competes for China on the international stage and did so at the 2026 Winter Olympics while balancing her education responsibilities.
Eileen Gu Managed to Find a Balance Between Education and Her Olympic Dreams
Gu soared to silver in both slopestyle and big air, then brought her Games to a triumphant close with gold in the halfpipe, notching her sixth Olympic medal.
She studied at the Katherine Delmar Burke School in San Francisco for primary and middle school, and went on to San Francisco University High School, her mother’s alma mater, where she graduated with a SAT score of 1580 out of 1600. She made her Olympic debut at 18, after graduating from high school.
Following her golden run at the 2022 Beijing Games, Gu took her talents to Stanford University. She had secured early admission in 2020 but postponed her studies to chase Olympic glory. At Stanford, she majors in international relations, explores quantum physics, and even spent 2024 studying at Oxford through the Bing Overseas Studies Program.
Gu once again paused her university life to chase Olympic dreams in Milan. With the season behind her, she now turns her focus back to her academic ambitions.
Gu’s Thoughts After Silver Medal Wins In Milan
Gu came into the Milan Games with a strong 2025-26 season, during which she competed in events such as the halfpipe at Secret Garden in December 2025, where she won gold. She also grabbed gold in slopestyle in Laax, Switzerland, marking her 20th career World Cup win.
After grabbing two silver medals in Milan, Gu made her feelings known about her performance:
“I just like being the best. I’ve always wanted to do that. I wanted to be the best at math when I was in kindergarten, and then I wanted to get into the best high school, and I wanted to have the highest SAT score, and then I wanted to get to the best college, and I wanted to be the best skier I could be.”
“Then I wanted to do every event, and then I wanted to win them all. When you get a taste of it, it’s kind of addictive,” she said, as per BBC.
During the conversation, Gu reflected on her choice to represent China, sharing that she feels the immense responsibility of carrying the hopes of two nations.
