Eileen Gu announced that she would not participate in the halfpipe event in Calgary, Canada, scheduled from December 31, 2025, to January 2, 2026. Gu had a dominant start to the World Cup season in Secret Garden, where she took her 19th career World Cup victory.
Gu is one of the most inspiring figures in the sporting world, having made a remarkable comeback after facing hardships last year.
Eileen Gu Will Miss the World Cup Halfpipe Event in Calgary
Gu faced a brutal fate in January 2025 when she first succumbed to an accident amid the Winter X Games. Having ended the campaign prematurely, she sustained two additional training injuries in February and August, which resulted in her missing the Asian Winter Games in Harbin. Since then, she has focused on other aspects of her life, including fashion appearances, endorsements, and rehabilitation.
The US-born Chinese skier made a comeback to the World Cup season in December 2025, winning the first halfpipe event in Secret Garden on December 13, 2025. Setting the foundation for the remainder of the season in the build-up to the 2026 Milan Olympics, the 22-year-old shared an Instagram story saying she would miss Calgary to focus on the real goal in February. She wrote:
“Will be skipping Calgary World Cup this year. Sad to miss one of my favorite events, but need to be smart & schedule my contests around the big one in February. Will be back.”
Gu won two golds and a silver in the 2022 Games, becoming the youngest Olympic champion in freestyle skiing.
Gu joined Shaun White’s Snow League as a global ambassador in June 2025. The move was made to broaden the sport’s visibility by leveraging her influence as a global sports icon. In this year’s edition, the 22-year-old won the debut halfpipe event and bagged a whopping $50,000 in prize money.
READ MORE: ‘My Hardest Year Yet’ Eileen Gu Opens Up About Challenges and Growth Ahead of the Winter Olympics
After her victory, she expressed pride in seeing the growing number of girls taking up the sport, saying it had always been her dream to inspire at least one girl to pursue freeskiing at the global level.
“Just looking out now and seeing how many girls there are in the park just leaves me at loss of words..I think I’m so grateful to watch the scene grow and to be a part of it and to just celebrate with everyone and get outside and be with the girls,” she said.
Gu also won three medals at the Winter Youth Olympics, gold in the big air and halfpipe events, and silver in slopestyle.
