Chinese teenager Eileen Gu creates history with third Olympic medal

Chinese teenager Eileen Gu has cemented her place in the history books, winning her third Winter Olympic medal in Beijing.

It’s official – this Winter Olympics will be remembered for Eileen Gu.

On Friday afternoon AEDT, Gu secured gold in the freeski half-pipe by putting together an incredible run of 95.25 to top the rankings on the Secret Garden half-pipe course.

She went top with a first-run score of 93.25 before extending her lead with 95.25 on her second attempt.

Defending champion Cassie Sharpe of Canada placed second with a score of 90.75, while teammate Rachael Karker took bronze.

Meanwhile, China’s Zhang Kexin required medical attention after a crash on her third run, but she was able to get up and ski unaided to the finish area.

There were 18km/h winds and plenty of gusts throughout the event, but the wild conditions didn’t seem to deter Gu.

The 18-year-old won gold in the big air and slopestyle silver earlier in the Beijing Games, making her first free skier to claim three medals at the same Olympics.

Her bid to take home a third gold medal last Tuesday was thwarted by Switzerland’s Mathilde Gremaud. Estonia’s Kelly Sildaru won bronze in that event.

Eileen Gu wins her second gold of these Olympics with a dominant halfpipe performance. She has two gold medals and one silver. pic.twitter.com/jvHCduaioo

— Thuc Nhi Nguyen (@thucnhi21) February 18, 2022

Eileen Gu is officially one of the biggest sports stars in the world. As cool as that is, it’s also terrifying. I wish her nothing but the best.

— Mike Douglas (@MikeDski) February 18, 2022

Before the Olympics, Gu, who was born and raised in the US, defected to the country of her mother’s birth for the Beijing Games.

The teen’s face has been everywhere in China, flooding TV ads, promotions and billboards.

According to Reuters, sales of her red Anta ski suit surged 20-fold on Chinese e-commerce platform JD.com, and Luckin Coffee sold out of Gu-endorsed drinks after the teen star won gold.

News outlet Tianxiashangwang reported that Gu’s earnings since the start of last year were estimated to be more than 200 million yuan ($A42 million).

Her defection from the US to China sparked plenty of debate across the world however, there is believed to be a financial incentive for Gu to choose China.

“She is the golden star for the country with the fastest-growing economy,” Mike Hanley, head of school at Wy’East Mountain Academy in Oregon said.

“She can be the Tony Hawk of winter sports in China.”

On top of multimillion-dollar endorsements and international modelling contracts, Gu is a student who will be going to America’s Stanford University in September.

Ailing Eileen Gu of Team China. Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

In America, Gu’s sponsors include Red Bull, Cadillac, the Apple-owned Beats by Dre headphones and Victoria’s Secret, where she was announced as one of the new faces of the brand last year. In the pages of Harpers Bazaar, Gu modelled the lingerie brand’s activewear in an image that showed her flying through the air.

She was also on the cover of iconic fashion magazine Vogue in 2021.

But those big names are dwarfed by the deals being made in China, where the national broadcaster, CCTV, has described Gu as “the perfect child next door”. Others in China have dubbed her the “Snow Princess”.

So far she’s inked more than 20 endorsement deals in her adopted homeland, signing with companies such as the Bank of China, China Mobile and milk company Mengniu. She is also the spokesperson for Luckin’ Coffee, the Starbucks of China. According to campaignasia.com, a single endorsement deal with the skier costs about $2.5 million.

– with the New York Post and AFP