Skier who swapped US for China surges to second Beijing medal

Eileen Gu rebounded from a poor opening to win silver with a last-gasp run in the in the women’s slopestyle event in Beijing
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American-born Chinese athlete Eileen Gu rose up the leaderboard after a dramatic showing in her final run in the women’s slopestyle event

China's American-born freestyle skier Eileen Gu overcame a dramatic fall to roar back to claim a silver medal with a breathless showing on the slopes at Genting Snow Park on Tuesday.

Gu, who had previously represented the United States in international competition and has become something of a poster child for a new breed of Chinese athlete throughout the Beijing Olympics, had been a favorite to win gold at the slopestyle event to add to her win at the 2021 X-Games as well as the Big Air gold claimed by the 18-year-old earlier in the Chinese capital. 

However, her chances appeared remote after she fell backwards off a rail on her second run - a mistake which dropped her Gu to eighth in the official standings.

When the pressure was on, though, Gu came up trumps performing a pair of 900s and a 1080 for a score of 86.23 which boosted her into the medal standings.

And while it wasn't enough to overcome Switzerland’s Mathilde Gremaud, who won gold with a score of 86.56, Gu said afterwards that her last-gap heroics were extraordinary - and that it couldn't have come without the help of her mother.

“So, so special,” she said to the Associated Press. “It really came down to the last run - again!”

“It doesn’t make it easy for myself,” Gu noted of the dramatic finale. “It certainly doesn’t make it easy for my coaches. My mom has a heart attack every day. It’s definitely not the easiest. But I’m happy I was able to push through and turn that pressure into fuel.” 

“My mum knows me very well and she knows the way my brain works with pressure. I've done a lot of work, read a lot of psychology books, did a lot of research on my own brain to see how I deal with pressure. And now we know that I perform well under it,” she added, per CNN.

“So in the first round, in the second round, I wasn't fully in the zone, if that makes sense. I wasn't in that headspace.

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“And my mom could see that, so I talked to her after the first run. She was like: 'Pretend your second run is your third run, pretend you have no more chances.' I was like: 'I'm trying,' but I guess my imagination is not that good.”

Gu, who was born to an American father and a Chinese mother, has become one of the star of the Beijing Olympics and has seen her status soar throughout China. The star, who opted to compete for China in 2019, has been featured prominently in promotional material for the Games on billboards and on magazine covers.

She has previously stated that the chance to compete in Beijing and to be seen as a role model for younger athletes influenced her decision - but questions remain as to whether or not she has renounced her United States citizenship to represent China, as most athletes who do so are compelled to do.

Gu has avoid questions on the subject in her media appearances, with Chinese law forbidding dual citizenship. The IOC removed a reference to her having dual citizenship on their website. 

“When I'm in China, I'm Chinese. When I'm in the US, I'm American,” she previously said.