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The People's Republic of China's double Olympic champion was all smiles as she secured the women's freeski slopestyle silver at Milano Cortina 2026.
Picture by Hannah Peters/Getty Images
By Nischal Schwager-Patel9 February 2026 19:04 GMT+15 min read
Eileen Gu was not disappointed to take the silver medal: after all, she has been on an almighty journey to make it here.
The two-time Olympic freestyle skiing champion repeated her result from Beijing 2022 in the women’s freeski slopestyle at Milano Cortina 2026, finishing 0.38 points behind Mathilde Gremaud on Monday (9 February).
From the moment Gu fell on the first rail of her final run – a flashback to her qualifying crash in the same spot – she knew she would be going home with silver. A cheerful shrug to the camera was evidence that the 22-year-old had nothing to regret.
“I really did overcome so much to get here,” Gu told Olympics.com at Livigno Snow Park. “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.
“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 honour for me.
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Milano Cortina 2026 – Eileen Gu’s story of perseverance towards the podium
In an afternoon defined by the finest of margins, Gu had a plethora of supporters on the snow in Livigno. From her mother, who gave her daughter a warm maternal embrace at the finish line, to the scores of Chinese fans lined up in the fan zone.
After winning two medals at her home Games in Beijing, the skier has truly been tested in her meteoric rise through the current Olympic cycle. Hate mail and death threats are rife, which Gu has always risen above to represent herself on the biggest stage.
“I'm proud of how much stronger I've gotten,” she explained. “My life has never gotten easier. It's only gotten harder, but I've only gotten stronger and I've learned how to deal with things that no 22-year-old should have to deal with… I was attacked on my school campus, physically assaulted. I have gone through so many things beyond the normal injuries, doubt, fear and pressure that come inherent to the sport.”
Gu will go for gold again in the halfpipe and big air events, her slopestyle silver just the start of the San Francisco-born athlete’s journey at Milano Cortina 2026. Two more shots at gold and two more opportunities to rise above the noise.
The two-time Olympic champion continued: “I've emerged so much stronger and so much more sure of myself, and especially as a young woman, that it's such a powerful place to be in the world, to know who you are and to trust yourself.
“I owe so much to sport for that because when you're truly pushing the human limit and you're looking danger in the eye every single day, you learn to love yourself in a new way, which is really special.”
Milano Cortina 2026 – Gu’s gratitude for Gremaud rivalry
Even after an intense battle of the highest quality, there was no bad blood between Gu and eventual gold medallist Gremaud. The pair have brought freestyle skiing to new dizzying heights and play their respective roles in growing the sport worldwide.
Gu put in a stellar opening run score of 86.58, but after Gremaud went into the gold medal position with her second run, Gu’s crunch moment crash sealed the order of the top two.
“It's so wonderful,” said Gu of her dynamic with the Swiss. “I think that every true competitor yearns for a worthy opponent, and I'm so blessed to have her in this field, and I hope she feels the same way about me.
“For example, I beat her two weeks ago at the World Cup in Laax and then she won in Stubai earlier this season, and so going back and forth like that is so special, and I think it keeps both of us hungry.”
There will be more duels to come shortly: Gu and Gremaud will lock horns in the freeski big air qualification on Saturday (14 February) – where Gu is the reigning Olympic champion - before the final two days later.
Gu’s final words are her raison d'être, what she always strives to accomplish every time she steps on the slopes. “If there's just one young girl at home who picked up a pair of skis because of me today,” she concludes, “that would be my gold medal.”
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