Gu Ailing, or Eileen Gu, born to an American father and a Chinese mother, first made headlines in China when she became the first naturalized Chinese freestyler skier in 2019 but was already a sensation when she first competed in the US at the age of 9. SMG talks exclusively with her about her link to China, her dream as a skier and her sporting career.
In January 2021, Gu managed to win two gold medals and one bronze at the X-Games in Aspen, USA, making her the very first X-Games rookie to win medals in all the categories she competed in.
With the helmet off, however, Gu becomes the talkative, easy-going girl that she is, speaking perfect Chinese with a distinct Beijing accent. Born in LA, Gu first learnt Chinese not in the classroom, but playing with local Beijing kids, when she returned to her mother's hometown at the age of two or three, as she recalls. It took her only two week to memorize all the tongue-twister involved in the games and soon she was mixing freely with local children.
Having grown up in the US, Gu has been China each summer since then. She says she's particularly fond of shengjianbao (pan-fried steamed buns) and xiaolongbao (soup dumplings), two local specialties from the region around Shanghai. Born to American and Chinese parents, Gu says having an understanding of both cultures helps her learn new things and keep an open mind.
Gu's love for skiing started when she first tried the sport at the age of three, when travelling to a skiing resort with her mother. By the age of 9, she took part in her first competition as a member of Lake Tahoe skiing team, which was based at the closest skiing spot to her home.
Since then, she's been winning, at almost all levels: from all-US competitions, to Freestyle Ski World Cup and Winter Youth Olympics, and most recently, X-Games. Having obtained Chinese nationality in 2019, Gu now aims at representing China at Beijing 2022.
This is one of Gu's two main dreams at the moment, the other being getting into Stanford, her mother's alma mater, which she accomplished in late 2020. She says she was able to find a balance between her sporting career and studies by dividing her time and energy, and most importantly, always concentrating 100% at what she is doing at the moment.
Beijing 2022 is scheduled to be held from Feb 4th to 20th, 2022. Some ice and snow events will be played at the nearby city of Zhangjiakou. Beijing is set to be the first city to have hosted both Summer and Winter Olympic Games.
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Негізгі бет EXCLUSIVE: Meet Gu Eileen, a 17-year-old beauty who could be China’s next Olympic star
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