Eileen Gu defends halfpipe gold, learns of grandmother’s death moments later

Eileen Gu Defends Halfpipe Gold to Become Most Decorated Freestyle Skier in Olympic History

Eileen Gu saved her best for last at the Milan Cortina Games on Sunday, defending her Olympic title in women’s freeski halfpipe with a score of 94.75 to claim her sixth career Olympic medal and become the most decorated freestyle skier — male or female — in Winter Games history. Minutes after stepping off the snow at Livigno Snow Park, the 22-year-old learned that her grandmother had passed away.espn

A Golden Comeback

After scrapping her opening run, Gu gathered herself and delivered a technically commanding second pass, opening with a towering 12.5-foot 900 Buick and linking a sequence of 900s and 700s before closing with back-to-back alley-oop flat 500s for a 94.00. She cleaned up the same line on her third and final run to push the score to 94.75.nbcolympics

Between runs, Gu consulted her mother, Yan, in the athletes’ corral. “She said, ‘You’ve landed this run five times in training. It’s there, stop thinking so much,'” Gu recounted. “‘I’m not nervous, you will be fine.’ That was really helpful”.nbcolympics

Her compatriot and 2025 world silver medalist Li Fanghui earned silver with a 93.00, while Great Britain’s Zoe Atkin, the reigning world and X Games champion, took bronze at 92.50. Atkin, who had led after the first run, crashed on her second attempt and could not catch the Chinese pair despite a strong final effort. Her bronze matched the medal won by her sister Izzy in ski slopestyle at PyeongChang in 2018.espn

A Promise Kept

Gu arrived late to her post-race press conference, visibly shaken. “The reason for my tardiness is that I just received the news that my grandma has passed away,” she said of Feng Guozhen, the retired senior engineer from Nanjing whose name is reflected in Gu’s own middle name. “She was incredibly resilient and a true fighter. While many people drift through life, she was like a powerful steamship. This woman took command of her life”.dailymail

Before the Games, Gu said she had visited Feng while she was seriously ill and made her a promise — not to win, but to embody the bravery her grandmother had always shown. “That’s why I often speak about believing in myself, being courageous, and embracing risks,” Gu said. “I’m truly pleased that I could honor that commitment and hopefully make her proud”.dailymail

Record-Setting Legacy

With six medals across two Olympics — three golds, one silver in Beijing, and one gold and two silvers in Milan Cortina — Gu surpassed Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury to stand alone atop the all-time freestyle skiing Olympic medal table. She remains the only woman to have competed in and medaled in all three freeski disciplines at a single Games.yahoo

“Being able to lead the way and pioneer the sport is something I never imagined I’d be able to do, but I’m really honored and proud that I have,” Gu said.nbcolympics