American-born Team China skier Eileen Gu suffers brutal fall during Olympics

Olympic skiing prima Eileen Gu suffered a gnarly autumn during the women's halfpipe qualifier connected Thursday. 

Gu's autumn came connected her archetypal tally erstwhile she clipped the articulator of the halfpipe connected the 3rd trick, knocking her near skis disconnected and sending her skittering to the bottommost of the course.

That acceptable up a pressure-packed 2nd effort that she had to implicit cleanly to enactment successful contention.

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China's Eileen Gu competes successful the freestyle skiing women's freeski halfpipe qualification tally 1 during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games astatine Livigno Snow Park, successful Livigno (Valtellina), connected Feb. 19, 2026.  (Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)

Gu didn’t spell blimpish and laid down a tally afloat of risky tricks, including 1 that took her soaring 14 feet implicit the borderline of the halfpipe. She came adjacent to clipping her skis connected 1 landing but managed to enactment upright.

Her tally earned 86.50 points, bully capable to spot 5th among the 12 skiers who precocious to the final.

"I was relieved," Gu said. "I conscionable benignant of had this infinitesimal of like, ‘Thank you.’ You know, I shouldn’t beryllium successful this presumption to statesman with, but I’m gladsome that I was capable to reenforce my consciousness of self-belief astatine the infinitesimal erstwhile it counted."

So far, Gu has won 2 metallic medals successful freestyle skiing successful Milan Cortina successful the slopestyle and large aerial events. The halfpipe last connected Saturday is her past accidental to triumph gold.

An enactment Tuesday with a newsman went viral aft Gu responded to a question astir her winning 2 metallic medals alternatively of golden truthful acold this Olympics, suggesting the question came from a "ridiculous perspective."

"I’m the astir decorated pistillate freeskier successful history. I deliberation that’s an reply successful and of itself," Gu said erstwhile asked if she saw her 2 medals arsenic "silvers earned" oregon "golds lost."

CONTROVERSIAL OLYMPIAN EILEEN GU UPSET OVER 'REALLY UNFAIR' WINTER GAMES SCHEDULE

Eileen Gu of Team People's Republic of China falls successful the Women's Freeski Halfpipe Qualification 1 connected time thirteen of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games astatine Livigno Air Park connected Feb. 19, 2026 successful Livigno, Italy.  (Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

"How bash I accidental this? Winning a medal astatine the Olympics is simply a life-changing acquisition for each athlete. Doing it 5 times is exponentially harder due to the fact that each medal is arsenic hard for me, but everybody else’s expectations rise, right?

"The 2 medals mislaid situation, to beryllium rather frank with you, I deliberation is benignant of a ridiculous position to take. I’m showcasing my champion skiing. I’m doing things that rather virtually person ne'er been done before. So, I deliberation that is much than bully enough, but convey you."

Gu has been the taxable of planetary disapproval since her determination to correspond China dating backmost to the archetypal determination successful 2019 and her archetypal Winter Olympics successful Beijing successful 2022. This year, that disapproval has ramped up. 

Vice President JD Vance weighed successful connected the contention surrounding Gu successful an interrogation Tuesday connected Fox News' "The Story With Martha MacCallum."

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China's Eileen Gu competes successful the freestyle skiing women's freeski halfpipe qualification tally 1 during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games astatine Livigno Snow Park, successful Livigno (Valtellina), connected Feb. 19, 2026.  (Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)

"I surely deliberation that idiosyncratic who grew up successful the United States of America who benefited from our acquisition system, from the freedoms and liberties that makes this state a large place, I would anticipation they privation to vie with the United States of America," Vance said.

"So, I'm going to basal for American athletes. I deliberation portion of that is radical who place themselves arsenic Americans. That's who I'm rooting for successful this Olympics."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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