China’s Eileen Gu competes during the women’s slopestyle qualification at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 14, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Eileen Gu is China’s Olympic megastar. Here’s what her San Francisco grandmother says about that
In Beijing, Eileen Gu is called the Snow Princess. Her fresh face and highlighted tresses grace billboards and glossy ads for Louis Vuitton and Tiffany. Her gold medal performance in the Winter Olympics women’s big air freestyle ski event crashed the Chinese social media site Weibo, when more than 300 million people swooned over the teenager’s historic achievement.
But her 85-year-old Chinese grandmother, waiting and watching from the home they share in San Francisco, doesn’t get all the fuss.
“I’m not used to all this nonsense of making a big deal about success,” Gu’s grandmother, Feng Guozhen, said in an exclusive interview this week with the Bay Area News Group.
Team USA’s Erin Jackson celebrates victory in the women’s 500m speed skating event during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing on February 13, 2022. (Photo by Sebastien Bozon/AFP via Getty Images)
Erin Jackson is 1st Black woman to win speedskating gold
Erin Jackson won the 500 meters Sunday with a time of 37.04 seconds, earning the American speedskating program its first medal of the Beijing Games and first individual medal since 2010.
The 29-year-old from balmy Ocala, Florida knew this moment was special, her chance to really make an impact on the generations that follow, the AP reported. She’ll forever be known as the first Black woman to win a speedskating medal at the Winter Olympics — and a gold one, at that.
“Hopefully, this has an effect,” Jackson said after the win. “Hopefully, we’ll see more minorities, especially in the USA, getting out and trying these winter sports.”
Russia’s Kamila Valieva attends a training session on February 14, 2022 prior the figure skating event at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games. (Photo by Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP via Getty Images)
Russian skater Kamila Valieva cleared to compete
Russia’s world record shattering figure skater Kamila Valieva was cleared by the Court of Arbitration for Sport to compete in the Olympic Games women’s competition this week.
See these stories and more in our Day 10 gallery of the games.
France’s Camille Cerutti takes part in the women’s downhill third training session during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre in Yanqing on February 14, 2022. (Photo by Jeff Pachoud/AFP via Getty Images)Italy’s Nicole Delago takes part in the women’s downhill third training session during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre in Yanqing on February 14, 2022. (Photo by Joe KlamarAFP via Getty Images)Team USA’s Erin Jackson celebrates victory in the women’s 500m speed skating event during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing on February 13, 2022. (Photo by Sebastien Bozon/AFP via Getty Images)Olivia Smart and Adrian Diaz of Team Spain skate during the Ice Dance Free Dance on day ten of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at Capital Indoor Stadium on February 14, 2022 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)A biathlete shoots at a training session during the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 14, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)A person skis during across-country skiing training session at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 14, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)A skier trains during a cross-country skiing training session at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 14, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/John Locher)Russia’s Kamila Valieva attends a training session on February 14, 2022 prior the figure skating event at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games. (Photo by Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP via Getty Images)Kamila Valieva, of the Russian Olympic Committee, trains at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 14, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)Journalists covering outside the 2022 Winter Olympics, visit the Forbidden City partially covered with snow during a media organized tour in Beijing, Monday, Feb. 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)Crew members clear snow at the Zhangjiakou National Ski Jumping Centre during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Zhangjiakou on February 14, 2022. (Photo by Christof Stache/AFP via Getty Images)General view of the National Sliding Centre during the Women’s Monobob Bobsleigh Heat 3 on day 10 of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games on February 14, 2022 in Yanqing, China. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)Norway’s Staale Sandbech competes in the snowboard men’s big air qualification run during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the Big Air Shougang in Beijing on February 14, 2022. (Photo by Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images)Jamaica’s Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian competes in the women’s monobob bobsleigh event at the Yanqing National Sliding Centre during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Yanqing on February 14, 2022. (Photo by Daniel Mihailescu/AFP via Getty Images)Kazakhstan’s Akmarzhan Kalmurzayeva falls as she competes during the women’s aerials qualification at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 14, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)Marco Ladner of Team Austria skis during the Freestyle Skiing Halfpipe Training session on Day 10 of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at Genting Snow Park on February 14, 2022 in Zhangjiakou, China. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)Belarus’ Hanna Huskova competes in the freestyle skiing women’s aerials qualification during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the Genting Snow Park A & M Stadium in Zhangjiakou on February 14, 2022. (Photo by Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images)Kevin Rolland of Team France performs a trick during the Freestyle Skiing Halfpipe Training session on Day 10 of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at Genting Snow Park on February 14, 2022 in Zhangjiakou, China. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)Kaillie Humphries, of the United States, drives during the women’s monobob heat 3 at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 14, 2022, in the Yanqing district of Beijing. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)Gus Kenworthy of Team Great Britain performs a trick during the Freestyle Skiing Halfpipe Training session on Day 10 of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at Genting Snow Park on February 14, 2022 in Zhangjiakou, China. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)Teams compete in the curling venue, during the men’s curling matches, at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 14, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)Canadas Brad Gushue curls the stone during the mens round robin session 8 game of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games curling competition between Canada and Italy, at the National Aquatics Centre in Beijing on February 14, 2022. (Photo by Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP via Getty Images)Dominik Peter, of Switzerland, soars through the air during a men’s team ski jumping trial round for competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 14, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)Tricia Mangan of Team USA reacts after crashing during the Women’s Downhill 3rd Training on day 10 of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at National Alpine Ski Centre on February 14, 2022 in Yanqing, China. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)An Olympic worker stands above the snow covered seats at the National Biathlon Centre during the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 14, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)Lucile Lefevre of France competes during the women’s snowboard big air qualifications of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 14, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)A huge electronic billboard shows a photo of Kamila Valieva with words “Kamila, we are with you” on the building of the Cosmos hotel in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Feb. 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr)A view over the athletes village during the Women’s Monobob Bobsleigh heats on day 10 of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at National Sliding Centre on February 14, 2022 in Yanqing, China. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
