Eileen Gu is all set to defend her title at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. The American-born Chinese skier will defend her freestyle skiing titles at the quadrennial event, to be held in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo from February 6 to February 22.
Gu initially represented the USA till 2019. However, after her request was approved by the International Ski Federation, she began representing China in winter sports.
Eileen Gu Reveals Thoughts On Her Second Winter Olympics
Gu recently opened up on the difference between her Olympic debut at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and her second Winter Olympics this year.
In a long, descriptive Instagram post, which also included some of her snaps ahead of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, the 22-year-old freestyle skier wrote,
“Good to see you again, @olympics 🥹❤️ Coming into my second Olympics as the same person in many ways, and also changed in some others. At my core, the mission remains the same – to introduce free skiing to more young people (especially girls), to push women’s skiing and represent it honorably on the world stage, and to enjoy this once in a lifetime experience (every Olympics is a once in a lifetime experience).”
The 23-year-old freestyle skier also talked about the experience to gain instead of just focusing on winning the gold medal, admitting,
“I also come into the next few weeks with a new sense of lightness, of love for the sport, and of excitement for progression. For most of the past few years, I’ve felt stuck – between injuries and very little time on snow…I was living contest to contest. Now, I feel this renewed sense of infatuation with skiing itself, with competing for the sake of sportsmanship and Olympic values, and with the art and craftsmanship that is inherent to this sport. No matter what results follow, I am here to have the most fun and be fully present in this experience:).”
Gu has made China proud in almost every stage of the winter sports. Before winning big at the World Championships and the Winter Olympics, the 22-year-old skier made a fantastic debut at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics held in Lausanne, Switzerland, where she won two gold medals and a silver medal.
Gu repeated the same performance at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, where she won gold medals in the big air and halfpipe events, and a silver medal in the women’s slopestyle event. The American-born Chinese skier is looking forward to maintaining her level at the upcoming Milano Cortina Winter Olympics as well.
