ZHANGJIAKOU, China —
When some rivals barely cleared the highest of the halfpipe on late-run methods, Chinese language star Eileen Gu continued to soar. Digicam operators bent backward to trace the teenager’s movement by way of the air as she climbed increased and better simply as she has for the final two weeks.
Gu reached a brand new stage Friday, changing into the primary freestyle skier to win three medals in the identical Olympics. After gold and silver in slopestyle and large air, respectively, she dominated the ladies’s halfpipe last at Genting Snow Park. Gu recorded the 2 highest scores of the competitors, together with a gold-medal-winning 95.25 on her second try, earlier than taking a teary-eyed victory lap.
Canadians Cassie Sharp and Rachael Karker took silver and bronze, respectively. American Hanna Faulhaber completed sixth in her first Olympics whereas Brita Sigourney and Carly Margulies completed tenth and eleventh.
Followers who had been restricted to only one part of the stands at Genting Snow Park braved blistering winds Friday and spilled over to fill greater than two-thirds of the viewing space. Olympic volunteers arrived en masse to catch a glimpse of freeskiing’s golden woman. A gaggle of followers held indicators that learn in Chinese language, “Go Gu Ailing.”
Earlier than she dropped in for her victory run, Gu heard the public-address announcer name her a “two-time Olympic gold medalist.” In that second, she felt as if she might lastly breathe.
“These few weeks been emotionally the very best I’ve ever been and likewise the bottom I’ve ever been,” Gu stated. “It has simply been a curler coaster of feelings, partially simply because it’s so arduous, high-risk reward and I do know precisely how a lot is driving on my efficiency.”
Since profitable freeski massive air final week, the Chinese language American, 18-year-old, skier-student-model has captured consideration on each side of the Pacific the place individuals struggled to untangle her from an advanced internet of sports activities, identification and politics. Critics parsed her identification as a San Francisco-born prodigy who selected to compete for China in 2019. Some followers turned on her questioning whether or not her privilege rising up in america made her the best position mannequin for Chinese language ladies.
Whereas many attempt to pin her down on selecting U.S. or Chinese language citizenship or being American or Chinese language, Gu is comfortable to reside as a multihyphenate.
“Folks, I feel, should not used to different individuals not becoming right into a field,” Gu stated after Thursday’s qualifications. “I really feel like I’m the sort of person who generally makes individuals uncomfortable as a result of they don’t know what to do with me. ... I feel in that sense, my greatest message has been you don’t have to slot in a field, you are able to do all of it.”
After Friday’s last, rivals marveled at Gu’s capability, calling her “unbeatable” or “a machine.” Throughout her dynamic Olympic marketing campaign, Gu lived as much as the phrase “maintain transferring” that was printed on the cuffs of her pink ski jacket.
For the reason that opening ceremony on Feb. 4, Gu didn’t have a single time off between coaching and competing in three occasions. She joked that after the busy schedule and pork scorching pot together with her grandma Friday, the very first thing on her post-competition agenda can be a nap.
This 12 months is the primary Olympics with freeski massive air, permitting Gu to try the historic triple-medal hunt. Since freeski entered the Olympics in 2014, america’ Devin Logan was the one lady to have competed in each halfpipe and slopestyle in the identical Video games however didn't medal in Pyeongchang.
Logan stated there are benefits to coaching each occasions because the methods cross over, however the busy schedule catches up.
“It’s positively looking for the time to relaxation, get a fast chew to eat, get that vitality again up,” stated Logan, the 2014 slopestyle silver medalist who completed thirteenth in halfpipe qualifying Thursday. “However she’s younger.”
Polished, charismatic and media savvy, it’s simple to neglect Gu has achieved star standing earlier than beginning school. The Stanford-bound freshman was all over the place on the Video games, showing on reward store luggage, in video adverts at practice stations and on seemingly each different industrial throughout China’s CCTV Olympics protection.
However the place she made her greatest mark was on the rostrum, standing on three in lower than two weeks.
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