“I really wanted to push it. The boys were so inspiring out here throwing absolutely insane tricks, so I really wanted to represent the women as well and kind of step it up to the next level.” –Eileen Gu
Huge shout out to Eileen Gu who threw caution to the wind and tossed the world’s first competition double cork 1440 in what was essentially a victory lap over the weekend at the Women’s Big Air World Cup event in Steamboat Springs. Absolutely badass.
NBC Sports reports Gu was born in San Francisco and initially competed for the United States, but she announced in 2019 that she would be switching her national affiliation to represent China. The 18-year-old is fluent in Mandarin and grew up taking yearly trips to China with her mother who was born in Beijing.
Gu is expected to be a medal threat in all three freeskiing events at the upcoming 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, including Skiing Big Air which will make its Olympic debut in the upcoming games.