Although it's not really a huge surprise, Eileen Gu has turned plenty of heads during the Milana Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
Gu, 22, was born and raised in San Francisco, California. However, she represents China at the Olympics due to her family's upbringing. Her mother, Yan Gu, is a first-generation immigrant to the United States.
Though it's not considered her best event, Gu captured a silver medal in the women’s freeski slopestyle on Monday. She finished 0.38 points behind Mathilde Gremaud for first place.
"The last four years have been challenging, to say the least. I've dealt with a number of injuries. A year ago, I had the worst concussion I've ever experienced. I had seizures afterwards. There were people concerned [whether] I'm going to wake up," Gu said, via Olympics.com. "So being able to compete and really showcase my best skiing – that was my best slopestyle run that I’ve ever done, and I know that was Mathilde's best slopestyle that she has ever done as well - to participate in pushing the sport at the level that it's at, is the highest honor for me."
© Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images.
Eileen Gu is an SI Swimsuit model.
In May 2025, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit revealed that Gu was part of its rookie class. She was photographed by Ben Horton in Boca Raton.
Gu opened up about her rise to stardom during her time on set with SI Swimsuit.
"Free skiing is a very male-dominated sport. I think the first time that I had girls on my team, I was around 14 or 15 [...] so I definitely felt as though I stuck out a little bit," Gu told SI Swimsuit. "I think I was definitely trying to mask myself and trying to fit in and be more accepted. I wanted to look like the other people in the industry, and for the most part, those were boys. So, I think reconciling with my femininity—particularly when I turned 14,15 and started working in fashion more—was a pivotal step of my development."
Fans of Gu won't have to wait long to see her back in action. She still has the big air and halfpipe events on her schedule. It's worth noting she captured gold medals in both competitions during the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
NBC will continue to televise all of Gu's events at the 2026 Winter Games.