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The Milan Cortina Winter Olympics are in full swing, and there's one particular athlete that everyone is talking about.
That would be Eileen Gu, a freestyle skier who was born in the United States (San Francisco, specifically) but represents China in the halfpipe, slopestyle, and big air events.
Outside of her sport, the 22-year-old is studying quantum physics at Stanford University, she's also graced the cover of Vogue Hong Kong and China’s In Style Magazine, and has 2 million Instagram followers, making waves as she seeks to redefine what it means to be an athlete in 2026.
“I’m a full-time student who’s really athletic,” she explained in an interview with TIME. “I can have a conversation with a physicist and stand my ground, and I can also walk a runway show the next day. I think that's pretty revolutionary, especially as a young person. Because the whole multihyphenate thing often happens in different stages in life."
Why does Gu represent China?
Gu, whose mother is Chinese, controversially chose to ski for China at the Beijing Games in 2022 after previously comepeting for Team USA up until 2019. The reason she cited for the switch being that China had less representation at the Winter Games than the United States.
"The U.S. already has the representation,” Gu to the same publication about her decision. “I like building my own pond.”
It was there when Gu made history by becoming the youngest Olympic champion in freestyle skiing after winning gold medals in halfpipe and big air, as well as a silver medal in slopestyle. Plus, she became the first-ever freeskier to win three medals at a single Winter Olympics.
She has become the highest paid athlete of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, as she earned an estimated $23 million by the end of 2025, almost entirely from endorsements, according to Sportico.
How is Gu performing at the 2026 Winter Olympics?
So far at the 2026 Winter Olympics, Gu has won two silver medals, one in the Women's big air and another in Women's slopestyle skiing events.
Gu took to Instagram to express her disappointment at the schedule ahead of the women's big air final on Monday (February 16) where she took home the silver.
"Unfortunately, @fisparkandpipe has scheduled big air finals and pipe training with 100% overlap, which means I’ll now be missing an entire day of pipe training," she wrote in an Instagram post.
"I have asked for fair options like joining one training with the snowboarders, or getting even one hour alone to train, but to no avail. No other woman in the halfpipe field is competing in another event, and for good reason - Halfpipe is different from slope and big air, and demands its own training time accordingly.
She described the decision as "disappointing" as she says "it seems to contradict the spirit of the games."
"Daring to be the only woman to compete in three events should not be penalized - making finals in one event should not disadvantage me in another. What kind of message does this send to future athletes who love skiing for its essence and want to compete in every event? This was a totally avoidable issue and I am saddened by the hardline stance FIS has chosen to take.
She concluded, "With that said, I am proud of myself for being willing to give big air my best shot, and am looking forward to competing tomorrow night under the lights with this incredible field of women."
What are people saying about Gu on social media?
On social media, viewers are praising Gu's performance and achievement, while others are also complementing her "insane face card".
Actor Simu Liu wrote, "I am so freaking proud of Eileen Gu. inspirational, resilient, intelligent and well spoken in two languages."
"Be Eileen Gu," a second person said, while listing off her talents and achievements.
A third person posted, "Eileen Gu insane face card."
"Eileen Gu's facecard is ridiculous, they can never make me hate her," another person shared.
A fifth person asked, "Is there something this girl cannot do because Douyin just informed me that Eileen Gu sleeps 10h a day, scored 1850 on SATs, studies quantum physics at Stanford, is a serious model, has 2 Olympic golds and 2 silvers at age 22, and apparently can sing and play the piano well ???"
Elsewhere from Indy100, Why do the Winter Olympics medals keep breaking? and Canada’s curling team accused of cheating – and the internet is hooked.
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