In Milan, Eileen Gu secured the gold medal, cementing her place in history as the most decorated freeskier of all time. However, what came after was a saddening update about her grandmother, Feng Guozhen, the woman who had shaped her spirit and taught her to be brave, who had passed away. Fighting back tears, she shared the loss with the world. Now, Gu has opened up further about the impact of that loss.

“She and I were massively close, and I’m so grateful to have had the time that I had with her,” she said during an interview with ABC7 Eyewitness News.”She has this indomitable spirit, and I think that it’s almost impossible not to live on with that spirit.”

It was a relationship built not merely on familial duty but on genuine admiration and an almost spiritual connection. And her grandmother had been a constant presence throughout Gu’s life.

Raised in San Francisco primarily by her mother, Yan Gu, and grandmother, Feng Guozhen, Eileen Gu grew up in a household where American opportunity met Chinese tradition. Feng was a former senior engineer from China who had moved to the United States to help raise her granddaughter. She taught Gu Mandarin, ensured she spent long summers in Beijing absorbing her cultural heritage, and more than anything, became the architect of her confidence.

The stories Gu tells of her grandmother read like parables of unconditional love. There was the time in seventh grade when Gu was running a three-kilometer cross-country race in the United States, trailing in second place. Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice chanting, “Eileen number one! Eileen number one!”

Confused, she turned to find her grandmother, who primarily spoke Mandarin, having somehow gathered a group of American parents to cheer for her granddaughter.

When Gu later asked about it, Feng simply explained, stating, “Because I want you to sprint and cheer you on.”

Before leaving for the Winter Olympics, Gu had visited her grandmother, who was already very sick. Knowing the end might be near, she made no promises of victory. And when the spotlight got to her, she was visibly in tears.

Eileen Gu broke down after her Olympic stint

Just like in Beijing, Eileen Gu took three Olympic medals home, with a small difference, as this time, she secured one gold and two silver. However, it was her grandmother’s years of guidance that carried the skier to the top step of the sport’s grandest stage.

Breaking down with tears during a press conference, Gu confessed, stating, “She was a really big part of my life growing up, and someone I looked up to immensely. He was a fighter. And I think what’s so interesting is that a lot of people just cruise through life, but she was a steamship. This woman commanded life, and she grabbed it by the reins, and she made it into what she wanted it to be. She inspired me so much.”

Also, talking about a promise that she made to her grandmother, she said, “I didn’t promise her that I was going to win, but I did promise her that I was going to be brave, like she has been brave, and that’s why I keep referring to this theme of betting on myself and being brave and taking risks. It actually goes back to that promise that I made my grandma. I’m really happy that I was able to uphold that and hopefully do her proud, but it’s also a really difficult time for me now.”

Eileen Gu not only became the greatest skier at just 22 years old but also a granddaughter who kept her promise to her grandmother, who gave her the confidence to ski through any hurdles in her life.