Livigno (Italy) (AFP) – Eileen Gu is one of the biggest names at the Milan-Cortina Olympics. That’s obvious from how her answer to AFP’s question about her performance at the Games has gone viral. China’s freeski superstar came to Italy as one of the few athletes whose name transcends winter sports. Gu, 22, was the darling of the Beijing Games on home soil four years ago, where she won two gold medals and a silver, making her the first freestyle skier to collect three medals at a single Winter Olympics.
She came to Livigno, in the Italian Alps, seeking to sweep the board but has so far missed out on gold, winning two silvers, in slopestyle and big air. Following her second-placed finish in the big air event on Monday, AFP asked her in a press conference whether she considered it “two silvers gained or two golds lost”. Gu laughed off the question, pointing out that she is now the most decorated woman in Olympic freestyle skiing history.
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“I think that’s an answer in and of itself,” said the skier. “How do I say this? Winning a medal at the Olympics is a life-changing experience for every athlete. Doing it five times is exponentially harder, because every medal is equally hard for me, but everybody else’s expectations rise. The two medals lost situation, to be quite frank with you I think is kind of a ridiculous perspective to take.”
– Viral video – AFP’s reporter in Livigno, John Weaver, said he had asked the question to try to get an insight into Gu’s emotions after she lost her title. “Top athletes in all sports have a fierce winning mentality and it’s fascinating to gauge their reactions when they just miss out,” he said. “I was surprised by the tone of her reaction but I thought it was a fair question and she gave a robust response.”
A video of the exchange has gone viral, garnering millions of views and reactions across multiple social media platforms. Many have come out in support of Gu, while others have criticised the tone of her answer, insisting the question was legitimate. One user on X said: “Such an excellent answer to such a horrible question.” Another said: “She is very smart and super good answering this question. Believe it or not, she is going to be someone quite extraordinary, far beyond just an athlete in the future.”
But others had a different view. “There was nothing wrong with this question,” one Instagram user said. “It was a question of expectations and perspective. Many silver-winner athletes consider second place a loss to gold.” Another said: “Why the hate? He asked a genuine question.”
Gu was born and raised in San Francisco and started her sporting career representing the United States, only to switch allegiance to China — where her mother is from — in 2019. That decision has divided opinion in her country of birth. But Gu has defended her choices, telling reporters at the Beijing Games: “I’m just as American as I am Chinese.”
The athlete gave an interesting insight into the pressure she is under earlier at the Milan-Cortina Games, saying she feels she is “carrying the weight of two countries on my shoulders”. She also packs a lot into her life, studying at Stanford and modelling alongside her sporting commitments. One measure of her global name recognition is that she was the fourth highest-paid sportswoman in the world last year, according to Forbes, the vast majority of that earned away from the slopes in endorsements.
Gu has one more event to go in Italy, with women’s halfpipe qualifying due to take place in Livigno on Thursday, weather permitting. Whatever the outcome of the competition, her Games will have been a success. But she will be desperate to restate her credentials as the woman to beat.
© 2024 AFP
