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China's Eileen Gu competes in the Women's Freestyle Skiing Halfpipe final competition during the 2026 Winter Olympic Games Milan-Cortina. David Davies/PA Wire/dpa
Freestyle skiing superstar Eileen Gu learned that her grandmother, Feng Guozhen, had died shortly after she defended her halfpipe Olympic title on Sunday at the Milan/Cortina Winter Games.
The Chinese skier apologized for being late to her press conference and revealed that she received the news shortly after competing.
"The reason I was late is that I just found out that my grandma passed away. She was a really big part of my life growing up and someone I looked up to immensely," Gu said while in tears.
"She was a fighter. And I think what's so interesting is that a lot of people just cruise through life, but she was a steamship. This woman commanded life, and she grabbed it by the reins, and she made it into what she wanted it to be. And she inspired me so much," she added in an emotional tribute.
Gu said that she knew that it was a possibility that her grandmother could pass away during the Games as Feng was "very sick."
"I didn't promise her that I was going to win, but I did promise her that I was going to be brave, like she has been brave, and that's why I keep referring to this theme of betting on myself and being brave and taking risks.
"And so I'm really happy that I was able to uphold that and hopefully do her proud, but it's also a really difficult time for me now," she said.
Gu is the most decorated freestyle skier in Olympic history with six medals, three of them gold. At the Milan/Cortina Games, she won halfpipe gold and big air and slopestyle silver.
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