How Eileen Gu’s First Gold Medal Became the Biggest Moment of the Beijing Olympics 2022

How Eileen Gu’s First Gold Medal Became the Biggest Moment of the Beijing Olympics Eileen Gu’s Olympic final debut was alway going to be huge. The American-born free skier is China’s most high-profile athlete at the Beijing Olympics, and her face is on advertising campaigns and magazine covers in both countries. But the way Gu won her first gold medal on Tuesday—on her final run, in front of a VIP crowd and fans on both sides of the Pacific watching live—cemented her place as one of the biggest stars of the 2022 Winter Games. And she did it by landing a spectacular trick she’d never pulled off in competition before. Gu, who is known in China as Gu Ailing, was in third place after two solid jumps—guaranteed at least a bronze medal. But then, she pulled off a 1620—four and a half full rotations. It was enough to put her in first place. The remaining skiers ahead of her, Mathilde Gremaud of Switzerland and Tess Ledeux of France, tried to best her trick, but could not. They took home bronze and s