By Lisa Richwine
LIVIGNO, Italy Feb 22 (Reuters) – Eileen Gu celebrated a gold medal win that made her the most decorated Olympic freestyle skier in history on Sunday and then learned the heartbreaking news that her grandmother had died.
Gu broke into tears at a post-event press conference in Livigno as she described how her grandmother, Feng Guozhen, had inspired her.
“A lot of people just cruise through life, but she was a steamship,” the 22-year-old Gu said. “This woman commanded life and she grabbed it by the reins and she made it into what she wanted it to be.”
The American-born Gu chose to represent her mother’s and grandmother’s homeland of China at the Olympics.
She claimed gold in the women’s halfpipe on Sunday, bringing her medal count from two Olympics to six.
At Beijing 2022, Gu talked about trying to win over her grandmother to the idea of her being a professional skier. She said they discussed her appearance at the Milano Cortina Games.
“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,” Gu said.
“And that’s why I keep referring to this theme of betting on myself and being brave and taking risks. It actually goes back to that promise I made my grandma.
“I’m really happy that I was able to uphold that and hopefully do her proud,” she added, “but it’s also a really difficult time for me now.”
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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