Gold was the only statement left to make by Eileen Gu in the icy realms of Milano Cortina 2026. And she did it! The 22-year-old phenom clinched the Olympic gold in the women’s freeski halfpipe final on February 22 at the Livigno Snow Park in Valtellina. While remaining under pressure following two silver medal runs in big air and slopestyle, Gu delivered when it mattered most. And with that, she has achieved a feat never done before.

With three Olympic golds and three silvers across two Games, Gu now holds six medals from six Winter Olympic events. She now has six Olympic medals in freestyle skiing (the most ever by any man or woman).

While many were speculating such a result, the beginning of the race started to hint at a different story. Her first run faltered, earning just 30 points after a missed landing. But like a champion, she bounced back with a commanding second run that scored 94.00. Following that, she pushed even higher on her third attempt and scored a breathtaking 94.75.

Her teammate Li Fanghui continued to chase her in the showdown. She won the silver with a best score of 93.00. On the other hand, Great Britain’s World Champion Zoe Atkin had earlier thrilled the field with a 90.50 to move into medal contention. Following that, she marked a 92.50 on her final run and secured the coveted bronze medal,

At the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Gu announced herself with two gold medals and a silver medal. Four years later in Milano Cortina, she repeated her dominance with another gold, but this time in freeski halfpipe. And with that, she completed an extraordinary six-for-six Olympic record. In doing so, she became only the second athlete in Winter Games history to achieve that feat, joining cross-country skiing great Lyubov Yegorova.

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While Gu continues to achieve historic feats, she has been the centre of a major controversy, which has invited even political leaders to the conversation.

Eileen Gu responds to JD Vance amid Olympic allegiance controversy

Eileen Gu started her athletic journey as an American freestyle skier. However, although she was born and raised in San Francisco, California, she has represented China in international competition since 2019. She has won all six of her Olympic medals for China. 

Born to a Chinese mother and an American father, Gu has shared how she equally respects the culture and heritage of both countries. However, her decision to switch allegiance has long been a topic of controversy. It went to such an extent that even America’s Vice-President JD Vance shared his stance on the matter.

In an interview with Fox News, Vance stated, “I certainly think that somebody who grew up in the United States of America, who benefited from our education system, from the freedoms and liberties that make this country a great place, I would hope that they want to compete with the United States of America.”

He further added, “So, I’m going to root for American athletes, and I think part of that is people who identify themselves as Americans. That’s who I’m rooting for this Olympics.”

Gu, when asked about her response to Vance’s take, said, “I’m flattered. Thanks, JD! That’s sweet.”

However, she did not keep calm and shared how she feels that she has turned into a ‘punching bag’ when 

She said, “So many athletes compete for a different country. … People only have a problem with me doing it because they kind of lump China into this monolithic entity, and they just hate China. So it’s not really about what they think it’s about.”

Gu further added how she thinks that the reason behind all the debacle is her victorious journey in the sport. She feels that if she weren’t winning and wasn’t doing good people wouldn’t have bothered much.