The celebration turned into mourning at least in the few minutes after the latest Olympic gold was won by Eileen Gu.
After the halfpipe by women, Gu came late to her Livigno press conference, and gave reasons. The reason I was late is that I just learned my grandmother died and my voice is shaking. She was a very huge part of my life as I grew up and an individual that I thought highly. The medal on her neck was a sporting milestone; the words that followed put the moment again into focus on a family loss that was not to be put off.
The grandmother referred to as Gu was Feng Guozhen, the grandmother who was referred to by the family name as “Nai Nai” and Feng, the middle name of Gu, was a worship to her. Gu wrote about a woman who she perceived as being aggressive and purposeful: “She was so hard, she was a fighter and I suppose what I find fascinating is that many people just sail through their lives but she was a steamship. Simultaneously, she inserted the sentence which transformed a personal description into a sort of a rule: This woman ruled life and she took it in her hands and she turned it into what she wanted it to be and she inspired me so much.
Gu claimed that she had been afraid that was going to happen. She didn’t know whether she would or she wouldn’t but as she stated to the reporters, the last time she saw her before the Olympics she was very sick. The thing that she made promises at the Games was not related to the medals. Gu promised her that he would win but I did promise her that I would be brave like she has been brave, which he attributed to the manner in which she competes: that is why I am continually referring to this theme of betting on myself and being brave and taking risks.
It is that concept of risk that has influenced how Gu has approached the Milan Cortina Games, where she piles events in a programme that rewards indecisiveness with punishment. She said that she signed up to three competitions because she had minimal time to reestablish halfpipe training and she was also carrying the prospects of big air finals.” I had to run six times,” she said, and she referred to it as a marathon, but at the speed of a 100m dash, and with no day to relax, as no day emerges.
The outcome was another history in the history book: her sixth Olympic medal that made her the most decorated Olympic freestyle skier, man or woman. Her third Gold in such Games, to add silvers in slopestyle and big air, was her gold in Livigno, and she talked candidly of what it required of her: to trust in preparation, and then again to trust when the moment comes to face the pressure.
However, hours later Gu posted a short tribute on social media, saying, Because I promised her I would be brave like her with photos of her family. Skier Lindsey Vonn, who is also his girlfriend, responded: “Grandmas are special. I’m so sorry.”
There has been little that has kept Gu in the Olympic story to sport. She grew up in San Francisco, and she has been competing in China since the age of teens, so the choice has been criticized, and she has presented it as representation in relation to her heritage several times. The discussion of opinion no longer dominated in Livigno. It was now a champion who was attempting to grasp two truths simultaneously; a career-making victory, and a farewell that came as soon as the victory.
