Two-time gold medalist in Beijing, youngest ever Olympic freestyle skiing champion, national hero and now author.
After writing her name in the history books in Beijing 2022, Chinese Eileen Gu wants to write her own work.
At just 18 years old, Gu became the first freestyler skier in history to win three medals at an Olympics and gold in both the halfpipe and big air events.
Born and raised in California, Gu chose to compete in 2019 for China, where her mother was born.
Now, after her historic Games, Gu wants to share her unique journey in written form.
“I’m writing a book,” she told reporters at her latest press conference in Beijing 2022.
“I have been writing diaries for years because I knew the way I grew up was different, interesting and special. I would like to share it with everyone in the future.”
She was hailed as the “pride of China” after winning her first gold, and has since won more medals than anyone else for the country at the Games.
As records continue to tumble in her wake, Gu argued that these awards serve a greater representative purpose than purely personal achievement.
“We all know that extreme sports are heavily dominated by men and stereotypically it hasn’t had the kind of representation and sporting equality it should,” Gu said.
“So I think as a young biracial woman it’s super important to be able to hit those milestones and push boundaries — not just my own boundaries, but the sport’s and the record books’, because that’s what smoothes the past for the next generation of girls.
“Seeing yourself in the sport totally changes your perception of what you can do in it.
“So my biggest goal is one, to have fun for myself, but also to break the boundaries of the boxes people are put into.”