Adventure Magazine
Issue 230, February/March 2022
Issue 230, February/March 2022
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EILEEN GU<br />
finding the balance<br />
Eileen Gu's ascent to become a winter-sports star<br />
has been nothing short of remarkable the last two<br />
years. In 2021, Gu burst onto the international<br />
senior winter sports scene as a 17-year-old and<br />
ripped up the record books with a rapid series of<br />
breath-taking displays that stunned the freeskiing<br />
world.<br />
After winning two gold medals and a silver medal<br />
at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics, Gu claimed<br />
two golds and a bronze at the 2021 Winter<br />
X Games then the same again at the World<br />
Championships with her unique talent seeing her<br />
excel in big air, halfpipe and slopestyle.<br />
But just who is the 18-year-old piano playing,<br />
horse-back riding, Stanford University attending,<br />
professional model who just happens to have a<br />
supernatural gift on two skis?<br />
Gu's 2021 season, which will go down in history<br />
as she also won two gold medals and one bronze<br />
medal at the World Championships despite<br />
fracturing a finger and tearing a thumb UCL,<br />
forcing her to ski without poles for the first time.<br />
Eileen became the first rookie to win three Winter<br />
X Games medals in between, while she also<br />
became the first woman to land a forward double<br />
cork 1440.<br />
The talented teenager could have chosen any<br />
number of career paths but chose skiing having<br />
started aged three.<br />
She openly admits she lives four different lives<br />
where no second of any day is wasted, however<br />
“being a teenager and doing teenager things” is<br />
still very much part of the agenda with a joyous<br />
moment shared when she is accepted into the<br />
prestigious Stanford University as a legacy<br />
applicant.<br />
One of her many passions and interests away<br />
from the snow is modelling with a recent Met Gala<br />
appearance and first Vogue cover coming on the<br />
back of her being named the new face of lingerie<br />
brand Victoria's Secret.<br />
She adds, "Both have a lot of creative expression,<br />
take me out of my comfort zone and require a lot<br />
of self-confidence."<br />
Discover more in the Beyond the Ordinary<br />
podcast episode: Eileen Gu and Bobby Brown: a<br />
conversation between two freeski stars.<br />
Top: Eileen and her first Vogue cover<br />
Right: Showing her remarkable style<br />
Following Page: Eileen Gu skiing at Mammoth Mountain, Mammoth Lakes, CA.<br />
34//WHERE ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS/#230
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