Sawt Falasteen - Olympic freeski star Eileen Gu 'carrying weight of two countries'

The two-time gold medallist took silver behind Switzerland's Mathilde Gremaud at Livigno Snow Park in a repeat of the result from the 2022 Beijing Games.

Gremaud posted 86.96 points in her best run of three, narrowly ahead of Gu (86.58), who had been aiming for a unique golden treble at the Milan-Cortina Games.

Gu was one of the faces of the Beijing Olympics four years ago, winning gold in the half-pipe and big air competitions, and taking silver behind Gremaud in slopestyle.

Since then, a combination of injuries and academic commitments, including her studies at Stanford and a term at Oxford University, have limited her time on the slopes.

"The hardest part has been staying consistent all these years. I've had a really tough last four years, dealing with injury and time off the snow and then some mental stuff," she said.

"Sometimes it feels like I'm carrying the weight of two countries on my shoulders. Just being able to ski through all of that, you know. To still show my best and still be so deeply in love with the sport.

"That's really what I care about and I'm so happy to represent that today."

Gu was born and raised in San Francisco and started her freeskiing career representing the United States, only to switch allegiance to China -- where her mother is from -- in 2019.

The 22-year-old, who is also a model, said she had been happy with her performance even though she failed to win gold.

"I think it's kind of funny that both Olympics we were within half a point of one another," she said. "If anything, I think it's just testament to the growth of women's freeskiing. It's so special to be a part of that."

L.AbuTayeh--SF-PST