FLYING HIGH

How three-time Olympic medalist Eileen Gu became freestyle skiing's biggest star

- By Sean Gregory/ Scharnitz, Austria

A GU PHOTOGRAPHED IN SHANGHAI ON OCT. 24, 2025

ATOP A SLOPE AT BANGER PARK IN SCHARNITZ, Austria, in July, freestyle skiers and snowboarders from a host of countries—Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine—have begun training in earnest for the upcoming Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, which kick off Feb. 6. The athletes, mostly male and mostly dressed in baggy sweats or cargo pants, take turns riding down a dry synthetic ski surface, flying off a ramp, and doing aerial tricks before falling onto an airbag. On occasion, they consult with their coaches about technique, but some also spend ample time goofing around. A few play reggae music and mug for cellphone cameras.

Then there is Eileen Gu.

Gu, the double-Olympic champion who made the controversial decision to represent China instead of her native U.S. at the 2022 Beijing Games, is wearing a sleek black ski suit, embroidered with her gold personalized logo and an army of serpents—it’s the Year of the Snake on the Chinese lunar calendar. Two Latin phrases are inscribed on her uniform: Non Ducor, Deco (I am not led. I lead) and Veni, Vidi, Vici (I came, I saw, I conquered).

After almost every jump, Gu huddles with her mother and confidante, Yan, to review footage Yan recorded on her phone. They break down her flips and twists in technical detail, with Gu dropping references to motor-neuron activation, momentum, and axis rotation that require advanced study to decipher—fitting, as Gu has taken quantum physics at Stanford. In her sport, Gu says, “it’s not too cool to try too hard. I’m super unapologetic about it. That’s the fun part for me. It’s super addicting. I’m totally obsessed with it.”