Gu qualified for the women's slopestyle final wearing an outfit with details inspired by her Chinese heritage and her personal quirks.

Gu is the youngest-ever Olympic champion in freestyle skiing. She will compete at the upcoming Winter Olympics in Milan beginning Feb. 7.

Women threw down heavy tricks during the women's slopestyle qualifying event that opened the freeski competitions at Milan Cortina 2026 with Switzerland's Mathilde Gremaud and China's Eileen Gu pacing the pack.

Olympic skier Eileen Gu has been named as one of the highest-earning female athletes in the world — but her source of income might be unexpected to some. Gu has earned more than $23 million from her endorsements,

Fans in China, where Gu is so popular she can’t walk outside without stirring a commotion, waved Eileen Gu flags at the bottom of the halfpipe. “The numbers say that I’m, competitively, the best free skier that’s ever lived,” says Gu. Since her Snow League victory, she has won two more World Cups, bringing her total to 20.

Whether she is walking a fashion runway, amping herself up at the top of a mountain or digging into one of those physics lessons she takes “for fun,” Olympic champion Eileen Gu can probably boil down her main goals to these: Do her best. And bring as many people along for the ride as possible.

The U.S.-born gold medalist skier who competes for China causes a stir while off the mountain at the Milano Cortina Games.

The day has arrived where Olympians like Eileen Gu are making millions, not by what she does on a ski slope, but through content she creates for Instagram.