Eileen Gu’s record-breaking gold win at the 2026 Winter Olympics was bittersweet.
The Chinese-American freestyle skier, who was born in the United States but is competing for her mother’s homeland of China, already the most decorated freestyle skier in Olympic history, broke records when she won gold for the women’s halfpipe in freestyle skiing on Sunday, the last day of the Olympics.
The 22-year-old’s celebrations were however interrupted with news that her grandmother, Guozhen Feng, passed away.
Eileen, tearing up while speaking to reporters about her grandmother shortly after her big win, remembered her grandmother as “a steamship,” noting: “This woman commanded life, and she grabbed it by the reins, and she made it into what she wanted it to be.”
“She inspired me so much,” she went on, revealing: “The last time I saw her before I came to the Olympics, she was very sick, so I knew that this was a possibility.”
“I didn’t probably say that I was going to win, but I did promise her that I was going to be brave. She’s been brave,” she added.
Eileen, who is currently a student at Stanford University, majoring in International Relations, also commemorated her grandmother with a post on Instagram, sharing a photo of herself with her grandmother at the hospital.
She also included photos of her grandmother supporting her throughout her sports career, including one of them donning her medals from the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, and other photos throughout the years. “Because I promised her I would be brave like her,” she wrote in her caption, then adding, in Chinese: “I love you grandma.”
Fans and fellow Olympians alike were then quick to take to the comments section under the post and extend their support, with fellow skier Lindsey Vonn, who is recovering from a gruesome fall on her torn ACL, writing: “Grandmas are so special. I’m so sorry.”
© Getty ImagesOthers followed suit with: “Sending love and strength your way,” and: “She’s so special! May she rest in peace,” as well as: “She is def SO proud. You are amazing. Big hugs.”
© Getty ImagesIn addition to her skiing, of course, throughout the Olympics Eileen has also become known for her incredible eloquence during press conferences, answering questions about the sport just as she has about how her brain works and geopolitics.
In response to J.D. Vance commenting he would only root for “American athletes,” criticizing the very common tradition of competing for your family’s home country, Eileen told USA Today: “I’m flattered. Thanks, JD! That’s sweet,” before saying: “So many athletes compete for a different country… people only have a problem with me doing it because they kind of lump China into this monolithic entity, and they just hate China,” and noting: “And also, because I win. Like if I wasn’t doing well, I think that they probably wouldn’t care as much, and that’s OK for me.”
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