Moments after the biggest run of her life, the 18-year-old freestyle skiing prodigy was asked about her status as a
“If people don’t believe me, if people don’t like me, then that's their loss," Gu said. "They’re never going to win the Olympics.”
Gu did just that, earning the first of what she and her many fans in
The American-born Gu had never landed the double cork 1620 — a move in which skiers spin 4 1/2 times while rotating twice off-axis while 20-some feet in the air. Not in practice. Not in competition.
Only with the weight of her adopted homeland right there on her shoulders.
“I want all the girls to break their boundaries,” she said in Chinese, via interpreter. “I want them to think if Eileen can do it, I can do it.”
A crowd of spectators gathered spontaneously in front of a big TV screen in
“It’s very cheering. She’s of Chinese origin and has returned to
Capacity was limited at 5,000-seat Big Air Shougang — a shuttered steel mill that
The “Snow Princess” was ready for her crown.
Gu, whose mother is Chinese, estimates she's spent at least a quarter of her life in
Since choosing to side with
It's a status not unlike the public mantel Peng has held for years.
Peng, a three-time Olympic tennis player, sat in the stands with
Her responses — delivered in front of a Chinese Olympic official — left unanswered questions about her well-being and what exactly happened.
Asked if she shared international concern about Peng's safety, Gu skirted around the topic, saying she was “really happy” Peng attended and honored that a star from a major sport like tennis came to see “niche sports like freeskiing.”
“I’m really grateful that she’s, yeah, happy and healthy and out here doing her thing again,” Gu said before a room full of Chinese volunteers and media, who hushed when Peng's name came up.
Gu also spun around questions about her status as an American.
The decision seems to have been a lucrative one for Gu, whose second passion is modeling. Her face is on advertisements across
“I feel like sport is really a way that we can unite people,” she said when asked about her citizenship. “It’s something that doesn’t have to be related to nationality. It’s not something that can be used to divide people. We’re all out here together pushing the human limit.”
No denying, Gu pushed those limits Tuesday.
It was only a month ago that Ledeux became the first woman to land a 1620 in competition, stomping one down while taking gold at the Winter X Games. The French 20-year-old boldly pulled off another in the first of three rounds Tuesday, immediately setting the bar beyond where anyone else had previously reached.
Gu hit a clean double cork 1440 in her first run, then registered a safe-but-stylish double cork 1080 on Run 2. By the time her third jump came around, she was already assured of at least bronze.
Gu said she briefly considered trying to improve upon her 1440 but the math said the only way to close the gap on Ledeux was to go for the 1620.
She shrieked the moment her skis hit the landing, floating backward down what remained of the slope with her hands first over her head, then covering her face. She crumpled to her knees when her score of 94.5 was announced — good for a combined total of 188.25, just clear of Ledeux's 187.5. Swiss skier
A crowd of spectators gathered spontaneously in front of a big TV screen in
“It’s very cheering. She’s of Chinese origin and has returned to
Ledeux tried to improve her switch 1440 with her last attempt but came up short. She said via interpreter that Gu is “extremely competitive” and an “amazing athlete,” but she also grumbled that Gu had been in
"What I know is that she got lucky and that’s only fair, she was able to train in the venues before everyone else and that probably made a difference today,” Ledeux said.
Not that one more cynic was going to dash Gu's coming-out party.
“I'm not trying to keep everyone happy,” Gu said. “I'm an 18-year-old girl out here living my best life. Like, I'm having a great time.”
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