San Francisco native Eileen Gu is now a two-time gold-medalist, the Olympics’ youngest ever freestyle snowboarding champion, a Chinese language nationwide hero — and a budding writer.
Born and raised in California, Eileen Guselected to compete for China in 2019 — the place her mom was born — and have become the primary freestyler skier in historical past to win three medals at a Video games, successful gold in each the halfpipe and large air occasions.
“I am writing a guide,” Gu advised reporters on Saturday. “I have been writing diaries for years as a result of I knew that the best way I grew up was totally different, attention-grabbing and particular, I would wish to share it with everybody sooner or later.”
Hailed because the “pleasure of China” after successful her first gold, Eileen Gu has since gained extra medals than anybody else for the nation on the Video games.
However Eileen Gu does not view her achievements at Beijing 2022 as purely a private achievement — in addition they serve a higher representational function, in keeping with the 18-year-old.
“Excessive sports activities, everyone knows, are closely dominated by males and stereotypically it has not had the form of illustration and sporting fairness that it ought to,” stated Eileen Gu.
“So I believe that as a younger biracial girl, it’s tremendous essential to have the ability to attain these milestones and to have the ability to push boundaries — not solely my very own boundaries however these of the game and people of the report books as a result of that is what paves the previous for the following technology of ladies.”
Often knoconstruction of iling in China, even earlier than the Olympics the younger star’s face was all over the place within the nation — splashed throughout billboards, commercials, journal covers and on state tv within the construct as much as a house Video games.
Given her success at Bejing 2022, her sky-high recognition unsurprisingly continued to rocket.
“When you see your self within the sport, it completely adjustments your notion of what you are able to do in it,” Eileen Gu added.
“So my largest aim is one, to have enjoyable for myself, but additionally to interrupt the boundaries of the bins that folks get put in.”
‘Very, very disturbed’
In contrast, Valieva leaves Beijing beneath the cloud of an ongoing medication take a look at scandal and a “traumatizing” ultimate skating efficiency.
The 15-year-old Russian determine skater was touted to dazzle on the Winter Olympic and she or he did — making historical past as she grew to become the primary girl to land a quad on the Video games.
Nonetheless, a day after she helped the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) to gold within the group occasion the Russian teenager was suspended.
The suspension on February 8 got here after it was found that Valieva had examined optimistic for banned coronary heart drug trimetazidine in December 2021, although the end result was solely analyzed and reported to the Russian Anti-Doping Company (RUSADA) in February.
Valieva was subsequently cleared to compete within the particular person determine skating occasion, however a dominant begin led to tears after she fell a number of occasions through the deciding free skate routine to complete exterior the rostrum locations in fourth on Thursday.
After the 15-year-old left the rink in tears, former US Olympic determine skater Polina Edmunds described the expertise as “very traumatizing” for the teenager.
Edmunds’ discomfort was echoed by Worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach, who stated he was “very, very disturbed” when watching Valieva’s efficiency on TV.
“How excessive the stress on her will need to have been,” Bach advised reporters throughout a media convention on Friday.
“This stress is past my creativeness, specifically for a lady of 15 years outdated. To see her struggling on the ice, seeing how she tries to compose herself once more. How she tries to complete her program.
“In each motion within the physique language … you may really feel that that is an immense, immense psychological stress and possibly she would’ve most well-liked simply to depart the ice. And attempt to depart this story behind her.”
‘Chilling environment’
Bach additionally stated that he didn’t have “a lot confidence within the closest entourage of Kamila,” remarking he seen “how she was obtained … with what seemed to be an amazing coldness, it was chilling to see this.”
“Moderately than giving her consolation. Moderately than to attempt to assist her … you may really feel this chilling environment. This distance. And should you had been deciphering the physique language of them, it obtained even worse as a result of this was even some form of dismissive gestures.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has pushed again at Bach’s feedback, saying that whereas he revered his opinion, he didn’t “essentially agree with him.”
“Thomas Bach is a really respected particular person in sports activities, he’s the pinnacle of the Worldwide Olympic Committee and, after all, we respect his perspective, however we do not essentially agree with him,” Peskov advised reporters in a Friday briefing.
Peskov added that though Bach did not like seeing the “powerful” ways at play, “all people is aware of that within the sport of nice achievements, the toughness of a coach is the important thing to victory,” including, “We will see the athletes achieved these victories. And trainers. So let’s be happy with our victors.”
Lizzy Yee, Angus Watson, Selina Wang, David Shut, Jacob Lev, Jeevan Ravindran, and Ben Morse contributed to this report
