Seoul, Korea, October 20, 2022: Eileen Gu has decided it’s time to be a teenager again.
The 19-year-old freestyle skier capped an amazing year by being named ANOC Female Athlete of Beijing 2022 at the ANOC Awards on Wednesday after winning two gold medals and one silver at the Winter Olympics.
She was the face of Beijing 2022 and also of the ANOC Awards on Wednesday evening at the COEX Convention and Exhibition Centre in Seoul.
When the OCA asked her what she had been doing since Beijing 2022 in February, Eileen replied: “I started school. I am a freshman in college now, so I have been taking quantum physics, I have been taking international relations, all these incredible classes that have really given me the opportunity to learn and grow.
“I have also been enjoying my time as a 19-year-old. I think sometimes people forget that I am a teenager still and it’s very important to me to have that normal life and normal friends, so I have been trying to lean into that.”
When asked if she could combine her studies with her modelling and skiing on the road to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, Eileen said: “I certainly hope so. I have been a full-time student my whole life and I’ve been very outspoken about the importance of education and the importance of a balanced lifestyle, so hopefully I will be able to live up to that and continue pursuing everything at the same time.”
After leaving the grand stage of the ANOC Awards and meeting the media, Eileen remarked that she always thought sport always represented a cross-cultural bridge – “and to be able to, I guess, use this platform of mine to hopefully do some good in the world is my biggest goal. So, I am so grateful to ANOC and IOC for bestowing this award on me.”
Regarding the pressure on her in Beijing, she added: “I have always said that all the pressure at that final moment when it really counts is put on yourself.
“Any athlete will be able to attest to this. That is what is so beautiful about sport because it is such a shared experience. Everybody knows how it feels for those butterflies to threaten to make you explode from the inside out. For everybody to be able to understand that, regardless of societal divides like race, class, gender, nationality, is something that’s really powerful. So yes, I was definitely very nervous and there was an incredible amount of pressure on my shoulders but I am grateful for it.”
Did she expect to win three Olympic medals, including two gold, in Beijing?
“Oh man, I am a very competitive person but I never would have dreamed that I would come away with three. It was absolutely mind-blowing and still difficult for me, I guess, to wrap my head around.
As for the chances of a golden hat-trick at Milan-Cortina in 2026?
“I am currently a freshman at Stanford University so that has been really exciting for me – big change of pace. I am also pursuing a career in fashion as well as continuing to ski, so we will see where things go from here but I am still very passionate about everything, and I always have been, especially about sport and I am excited to go skiing very soon.”
