Live news and results on February 19, 2022
Double gold medalist in Beijing, youngest Olympic champion in freestyle skiing ever, national hero and now author.
After writing her name in the history books of Beijing 2022, Chinese Eileen Gu is considering writing her own work.
At just 18 years old, Gu became the first freestyle skier in history to win three medals in a game, winning gold in both halfpipe and big air events.
Born and raised in California, Gu chose to compete for China in 2019, where her mother was born.
Now, after her historical play, Gu wants to share his unique journey in written form.
“I’m writing a book,” she told reporters during her last press conference in Beijing in 2022.
“I have been writing diaries for several years because I knew the way I grew up was different, interesting and special, I would like to share it with everyone in the future.”
She was hailed as “China’s pride” after winning her first gold and has since won more medals than anyone else for the country at the Games.
As records continue to plummet in her wake, Gu argued that these awards serve a greater representative purpose in addition to pure personal achievement.
“We all know that extreme sports are heavily dominated by men and stereotypically it has not had the kind of representation and sportsmanship it should,” Gu said.
“So I think as a young bisexual woman, it’s super important to be able to reach these milestones and to be able to push the boundaries – not just my own boundaries but also the boundaries of sports and record books because that’s what drives the past for the next generation of girls.
“If you see yourself in the sport, it changes your perception of what you can do in it.
“So my biggest goal is one, to have fun for myself, but also to break the boundaries of the boxes that people are allowed to put in.”