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Olympic skier Eileen Gu — the most decorated freeskier of all time — is giving credit to her late grandma after adding another three medals to her name during the 2026 Winter Olympics.
After announcing that her grandma passed away during a Sunday, February 22, press conference, Gu took to social media to honor her grandmother.
“Because I promised her I would be brave like her 🤍🕊️,” Gu, 22, posted via Instagram on Sunday, along with a carousel of photos of her grandma.
The caption finished with “I love you grandma” in Chinese.
Gu’s post included photos of the two of them together, including one of the two wearing Gu’s Olympic medals from the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing.
The skier said on Sunday that she heard the news about her grandma right after earning the gold medal for the women’s halfpipe event.
“The reason I was late is that I just found out that my grandma passed away,” Gu said during a press conference on Sunday. “She was a really big part of my life growing up and someone I looked up to immensely. She was a fighter.”
She continued, “I think what’s so interesting is that a lot of people just cruise through life, but she was a steamship. This woman commanded life and she grabbed it by the reins and she made it into what she wanted it to be. She inspired me so much.”
Gu grew emotional as she continued honoring her grandma at the press conference.
“She was very sick, so I knew that this was a possibility,” Gu said. “I didn’t promise her that I was going to win but I did promise her that I was going to be brave like she has been brave. That’s why I keep referring to this theme of betting on myself and being brave and taking risks. It actually goes back to that promise that I made my grandma.”
She continued, “So, I’m really happy that I was able to uphold that and hopefully do her proud. But it’s also a really difficult time for me now. So I really apologize for being late but that’s what was going on.”
Gu also won the gold medal at the women’s halfpipe event during the 2022 Olympics.
“I’m the most decorated freeskier of all time, male or female,” Gu said on Sunday. “I have the most gold medals ever, male or female. That’s a testament to competitive strength, it’s mental strength. It’s being able to perform under pressure, it has nothing to [do with] if you’re a boy or a girl.”
Olympic skier Eileen Gu has a message for the vice president of the United States. “I’m flattered. Thanks, JD! That’s sweet,” Gu, 22, told USA Today on Thursday, February 19, after Vice President JD Vance criticized the Olympic medalist for choosing to represent China at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, adding that she […]
Gu was born and raised in San Francisco, California, but chose to compete for China — where her mother, Yan Gu, is from — prompting criticism from United States Vice President J.D. Vance.
“I certainly think that somebody who grew up in the United States of America, who benefited from our education system, from the freedoms and liberties that make this country a great place, I would hope they want to compete with the United States of America,” Vance told Fox News on Tuesday, February 17. “So, I’m going to root for American athletes, and I think part of that is people who identify themselves as Americans. That’s who I’m rooting for this Olympics.”
Gu was quick to respond to Vance’s comments.
“I’m flattered. Thanks, JD! That’s sweet,” Gu told USA Today on Thursday, February 19. She added that she feels “like a bit of a punching bag for a certain strand of American politics at the moment.”
