Eileen Gu Finds Freedom and Joy at Second Winter Olympics

After winning three medals at her first Winter Olympics, freestyle skier Eileen Gu arrives at the Milano Cortina Games with nothing left to prove and everything to enjoy.

The 22-year-old made history at Beijing 2022 as the first person to win three freestyle skiing medals at a single Olympics. She took gold in big air and halfpipe, plus silver in slopestyle, becoming the youngest free-ski Olympic gold medalist ever.

But something was missing. Despite her record-breaking achievements, Gu felt stuck for years, going through the motions of what she knew how to do rather than what she wanted to do.

That changed this season. Gu rediscovered her love for skiing by shifting her focus from external validation to internal fulfillment.

"I don't have anything left to prove," Gu told Reuters in Livigno, Italy, where the freestyle events begin Saturday. "Before, I think I was doing what I knew how to do, now I'm doing what I want to do."

The American-born athlete, who represents her mother's nation of China, holds more World Cup wins than any free skier in history. She's currently tied for most Olympic medals in her sport. Yet those accomplishments mean less than the joy she's found in simply skiing again.

"When I say I'm falling back in love with skiing, I think it's also falling back in love with myself and learning to trust myself again," she said.

Why This Inspires

Gu's journey reminds us that success isn't just about achievements on paper. Even at the highest levels of competition, finding meaning in what we do matters more than adding to an already impressive resume.

Her transformation came from asking a simple question: Am I doing this because I can, or because I want to? That shift in perspective freed her to compete as a veteran while maintaining the fresh excitement of a newcomer.

As she heads into competition in all three freestyle disciplines, Gu hints at possibly unveiling new tricks. In Beijing, she became the first woman to land a left-side double cork 1620 in competition, a feat no one has replicated since.

But whether she breaks new records or not, Gu has already won something more valuable: the freedom to compete on her own terms. "Every Olympics feels like the first time," she said, embracing the wonder of experiencing her "first" second Olympics.

Sometimes the greatest victory is remembering why you started in the first place.