Eileen Feng Gu (born September 3, 2003), also known by herChinese nameGu Ailing (谷爱凌), is afreestyle skier. Born in the United States, she has competed for China inhalfpipe,slopestyle, andbig air events since 2019.
At age 18, Gu became the youngest Olympic champion in freestyle skiing after winning gold medals inbig air andhalfpipe, and a silver medal inslopestyle, at the2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. She is the first freestyle skier to win three medals at a single Winter Olympics. Her decision to compete for China was controversial, drawing international attention.
Time named her as one of the 100 most influential people in the world under the 'Pioneers' category on itsannual list in 2022.[3]Forbes listed her as the second-highest earning female athlete in the world in 2023.[4]
Yan raised her daughter as a single mother in San Francisco'sSea Cliff neighborhood.[6] At 3, Gu began skiing in Lake Tahoe, where Yan once worked as part-time ski instructor. She joined theNorthstar California Resort free-ski team at eight, and won her first national championship at nine.[9]
Her second run in the Women's Freeski Halfpipe Qualification at the2020 Winter Youth OlympicsHer first run at Women's Freeski Big Air Qualification, 2022 Olympics
In 2021, Gu became the first woman to land a forward double cork 1440 in competition history.[14]
Gu's coaches have included Jamie Melton, head coach of the Chinese National Slopestyle and Big Air Training Team for the 2022 Winter Olympics,[15] and Brad Prosser, who met Gu when she was ten. In 2018, he became the technical coach guide to the Chinese national team for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Her personal coach for the 2022 Olympics was Misra Noto Torniainen, the former coach of the Swiss freeski team.[16] Torniainen coached Olympic medalistsSarah Höfflin andMathilde Gremaud for the2018 Winter Olympics.[17][18]
At the2021 Winter X Games, Gu won a bronze medal inBig Air and two gold medals inSuperPipe andSlopestyle, becoming the first rookie to win a gold medal in Women's Ski SuperPipe, the first rookie to medal in three events, and the first athlete representing China to win a gold medal at the X Games.[19][20][21]
At the 2024Winter X Games, Gu won gold inSuperPipe despite being injured on her right hip during theX GamesSlopestyle training. She wrote "Pain is Temporary" on her hand, and showed it to the cameras during the finals. Due to the pain, she did not participate inSlopestyle.[22]
Gu competed at theFIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championships 2021, winning two gold medals in Freeski Halfpipe and Freeski Slopestyle and a bronze medal in Freeski Big Air. Gu became the first freeskier to win two golds at the FIS Freeski World Championship.[23][24] She competed without poles for the first time due to a broken hand, having fractured a finger and tearing the UCL in her thumb.[25][26][27]
At the2022 Winter Olympics, Gu became the youngest gold medalist in freestyle skiing, winning thebig air event, the first to be held at the Olympics.[28] Gu landed a double cork 1620, her first attempt in competition.[29] She was the second woman to land the trick and the first woman to land a left-turn 1620;[30]Tess Ledeux first successfully completed a double cork 1620 on 21 January 2022, at theX Games in Aspen, Colorado,[31] Gu landed it again in her first run of the big air final at the2022 Winter Olympics.[32][33]
Gu ended the2021–22 World Cup season with a perfect record in women's halfpipe, taking her first careercrystal globe and becoming the first freestyle skier to win four consecutive World Cup competitions.[39][40][41] She won a second crystal globe during the same season, placing first in park and pike overall.[42]
Gu competed for the United States at the 2018–19 FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup. She began competing for China in June 2019 after requesting a change of nation with theInternational Ski Federation. Her goal was to compete for China in the2022 Winter Olympics.[44][45][46] She announced the change onWeibo[47] and Instagram,[45] stating that through skiing she hopes "to help inspire millions of young people" in China and "to unite people, promote common understanding, create communication, and forge friendships between nations."[44]
There has been considerable controversy related to Gu's citizenship and nationality. The Chinese Consulate General in New York told theBBC that Gu would have to have been naturalized or gained permanent residency status in China to compete for its team; in the same article, it was reported that the Chinese Ministry of Justice in 2020 broadened rules for foreigners, allowing people that achieved international recognition in sport, science, culture and other fields to obtain permanent residency.[48][49] In January 2024, Gu said that she planned to represent China at the2026 Winter Olympics.[50]
In an interview in May 2022, Gu referred to herself as anAsian American.[51] In an interview with ESPN in 2021, she said: "Since I was little, I've always said when I'm in the U.S., I'm American, but when I'm in China, I'm Chinese."[52][53] In 2022, in an interview with theSouth China Morning Post, she said: "Nobody can deny I'm American, nobody can deny I'm Chinese".[54]
In February 2025, the Beijing city government released a document about spending US$6.64 million for the training of Gu and fellow US-born athleteZhu Yi, though later their names were removed from the document and articles on the topic were censored on several Chinese websites.[55]
As a "young American freestyle champion" at Nanshan Ski Resort, Gu had sponsorships in China at nine years old through connections with the resort's owner[56] and China's ski industry.[57] These included several Chinese sponsors,The North Face, andCCTV9.[57]
Prior to the start of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Gu was the face of multiple brands in China.[58] Gu has endorsed brands in China across sports, fashion, and banking.[58] Some of her partnerships in China includeMengniu Dairy,Luckin Coffee,JD.com,China Mobile,People's Insurance Company of China,Bank of China, andAnta Sports. It was reported that she earned over US$30 million in endorsements and advertising contracts in 2021 alone.[58][35][59] According to media reports, her average fee per endorsement increased from $1 million in 2021 to $2 to $2.5 million in 2022.[58][60]
Gu was raised by her mother and maternal grandmother. In 2002, a year before Gu was born, Gu Yan's sister Gu Ling died in a car crash. Gu's mother decided to name her 爱凌 (Ailing), literally translating to "Love Ling", in her sister's honor.[65] In China, she uses the nickname "青蛙公主" ("Frog Princess") on her Chinese social media accounts. The nickname comes from a green helmet she once wore during competition.[66]
^"Olympic skier Eileen Gu sparks a debate about dual nationality".The Economist. February 17, 2022.Archived from the original on February 21, 2022. RetrievedFebruary 21, 2022.The International Olympic Committee says that Ms Gu acquired Chinese nationality in 2019 and that China's Olympic body produced a copy of her Chinese passport.
^Larmer, Brook (February 3, 2022)."Cold warrior: why Eileen Gu ditched Team USA to ski for China".The Economist.Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. RetrievedFebruary 21, 2022.Her name has never appeared on the US Treasury Department's list of expatriated individuals. In January 2021, she became a candidate for a US Presidential Scholars Programme open only to US citizens or permanent residents. Gu still spends far more time in America than in China and will return to attend Stanford in the autumn.
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United States
Font Romeu, France
Seiser Alm, Italy
China
Cardrona, New Zealand
Calgary, Canada
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