Winter Olympics: China’s Eileen Gu ‘so honoured’ to win gold, says Games ‘a force to unite people not divide us’
- Teenage freestyle skier claims host nation’s third gold of Beijing Games with storming final run
- Gu reveals support from Hong Kong fans and says she can’t wait to visit the city
A highly emotional Eileen Gu said she was “so honoured” to have won Winter Olympic gold for China on Tuesday, and hailed the unifying power of sport and the support she had from her US rivals.
It was the first gold that China has won on snow this Games, and the Beijing municipal government congratulated “Beijing athlete Eileen Gu” for winning “a precious gold medal for Chinese sports”.
The teenager stormed to a first Olympic title of her career in the freeski big air competition, nailing an improbable double cork 1620 on her final run to earn a 94.5 and take the lead from France’s Tess Ledeux.
Gu, who had never attempted the trick before in competition, cried at the bottom of the slope as she waited for her score. After getting up, she turned away from the cameras and towards the audience, and pumped her skis in the air.
And that’s when she bowed, folding her skis across her body while expressing gratitude to the adoring Chinese audience.
“We deliver our heartfelt congratulations to the Chinese sports delegation, Chinese freestyle skiing team, and Eileen Gu,” the municipal government said in a statement.
Gu, meanwhile, revealed she had received plenty of backing from fans in Hong Kong, and said she hoped to visit the city someday.
“Thank you to all the Hong Kong fans,” she said. “I really, really appreciate it. I’ve seen so many of you guys DMs and I love you guys, I appreciate it so much and I hope to meet you guys soon.”
