Freeskiing
Things we love to see: Eileen Gu skiing her own path to stardom
The freestyle skier shares her thoughts on having two nations cheering for her, dispelling the tiger mum myths and inspiring a generation of snow enthusiasts in China.
At 17, Eileen Gu has achieved more than most people her age, from winning three X Games medals on her debut, to modelling at Paris Fashion Week and graduating early from high school.
But now the skier has set her sights on inspiring as many people as possible from a population of nearly 1.4bn in China to take up snow sports.
And any suggestion that Gu Ailing, as she's known in China, might be daunted by the task couldn't be further from the truth.
Eileen Gu goes big at the Calgary Snow Rodeo World Cup
© Allison Seto/Red Bull Content Pool
Central to that ambition is competing at Beijing 2022 in February next year. She said: “Knowing China, the culture and the dedication that Chinese people have, I know Beijing is going to be big and go down in history.
“I know how many resources and how much effort have been put not just into the infrastructure, but introducing 300 million people to snow, which is nearly the population of the US. I know that, when it happens, it will be unlike anything else.”
Introducing and inspiring a generation of ski and snow lovers was central to Gu’s decision to opt to compete for China – the land of her mother Yan’s birth.
“It was one of the hardest choices that I've had to make. Before that, it was trying to go pro in running or skiing,” she said. “At that point, I was a sophomore in a regular high school and most sophomores are worried about physics tests and how their grades are going or what parties to go to.
“I always believed sport, especially extreme sport, has no boundaries. It’s one of the best vehicles to unite people, forge friendships and push human limits. I wanted to help with change and to introduce freeskiing to girls and kids in China, where the sport is only just taking off. I wanted to inspire and have fun along the way. I get so many messages from Chinese kids saying I’m the reason for them to take up skiing. I know how much it can change a life as it changed mine.”
I always believed sport, especially extreme sport, has no boundaries
Gu has long been a prodigy, be it on two skis, on the catwalk and in the classroom – getting an almost perfect score in her SAT to get into Stanford – arguably the highlight becoming the first rookie in history to win three medals at an X Games, in her case double gold and bronze earlier this year.
Being a world beater so early in her career has also meant growing up in the spotlight but the teenager has relished the opportunity: “I learned a lot about managing pressure this last year, when the attention started growing,” she said. “I learned to take the positives and use that energy for motivation and not let it become pressure.
1 min
Eileen Gu's winning Superpipe run
Watch the run that gave freeskier Eileen Gu her first X Games gold medal – at her debut appearance in the event.
“At the end of the day when I perform, the only person that I want to ski for is me, although there are a lot of causes outside of myself that I want to dedicate that spotlight to.”
Part of her motivation comes in trying to inspire her dual nations, a Chinese public in rapture and an American public also considering her one of their own.
Of that backing, she said: “I’m grateful to have the peoples of two nations so different and be able to have them come together and communicate and share my love for skiing.”
Next year will be a particularly poignant moment for the Gu family. For her mother, it's a return to the city of her birth in Beijing, and for Gu herself, fluent in Mandarin, it's a place she knows well having holidayed there every summer for as long as she can remember.
“When I perform, the only person that I want to ski for is me," says Gu
© Lorenz Richard/Red Bull Content Pool
Mother and daughter are close, both amused by the perception that, for all her daughter’s success, her mum is a pushy parent. “The commonest idea is she’s a tiger mum, but she’s not,” said Gu. “She always says be careful and rest enough, she keeps me sane and makes sure I sleep enough, 10-plus hours per day, and is just the best.”
Her one failing, however, is that she struggles to watch her daughter compete, unsurprisingly perhaps with the tricks she performs on the snow.
And come Beijing, Gu said: “She is so super nervous and doesn’t like to watch me compete. She’s there in person, but she just closes her eyes!”