Eileen Gu, the skier who chose to represent China over the US, bounced back from an early fall to make her first Olympic final
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Barnaby Lane
Feb 7, 2022, 21:37 IST
Eileen Gu.Getty/VCG
Teenage ski sensation Eileen Gu's Olympic dream is still alive.
Gu recovered from a fall on Monday to reach the final of the women's freeski big air competition.
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Eileen Gu, the freeskier who chose to represent China over the United States at the Beijing Winter Olympics, bounced back from an early fall during her Olympic debut on Monday to secure her spot in final of the women's freeski big air competition.
The 18-year-old fell after landing on the second of her three jumps in the preliminary round, ending up facing the wrong way up the ski hill and losing both her skis.
She quickly bounced back from her failed second run, however, to deliver a firm landing on her third jump and qualify for Tuesday's final in fifth place.
Canada's Megan Oldham topped the women's qualifiers with France's Tess Ledeux close behind in second.
"Made finals!!" Gu wrote on Instagram after Monday's qualifiers. "Can't wait to ski in the world's first Olympic freeski big air final [tomorrow] morning.
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"Thanks for all the support."
A post shared by Eileen Gu (@eileen_gu_)
Gu, who has been dubbed China's "Snow Princess," is one of the biggest stars in Beijing.
Born in San Francisco to an American father and a Chinese mother, the teenage ski sensational went professional in 2020 at the age of just 16 and has since taken the sport by storm.
She has already won eight international skiing events, including gold in both the women's superpipe and slopestyle at the Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado, last year.
Explaining the decision, she wrote on Instagram: "I am proud of my heritage, and equally proud of my American upbringings.
"The opportunity to help inspire millions of young people where my mom was born, during the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help to promote the sport I love."
Speculation about her citizenship status has been rife since January, when her sponsor Red Bull claimed she gave up her US passport in order to compete for China.
"Gu decided to give up her American passport and naturalize as a Chinese citizen in order to compete for China," the company wrote in a since deleted post on its website, reports The Wall Street Journal.
When asked about her citizenship last year, she said: "I'm fully American and look and speak the way I do. Nobody can deny I'm American. When I go to China, nobody can deny I'm Chinese because I'm fluent in the language and culture and completely identify as such."
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