--- title: Eileen Gu Wins Gold in Halfpipe – and Makes Olympic History description: Eileen Gu, who competes for China, is now the first action-sports athlete to capture three medals at the same Winter Games. She also won gold in big air and silver in slopestyle at the Beijing Olympics. canonical: https://time.com/6149340/eileen-gu-halfpipe-medals-beijing-olympics/ author: Amy Gunia article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2022-02-18T03:56:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:54:30.614Z article:section: Sports og:title: Eileen Gu Wins Gold in Halfpipe – and Makes Olympic History og:description: She is now the first action-sports athlete to capture three medals at the same Winter Games. og:url: https://time.com/6149340/eileen-gu-halfpipe-medals-beijing-olympics/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt31a72f6902585cc0/698a228b4ee26206c4319e9b/eileen-gu-three-medals.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: eileen-gu-three-medals og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Eileen Gu Wins Gold in Halfpipe – and Makes Olympic History twitter:description: She is now the first action-sports athlete to capture three medals at the same Winter Games. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt31a72f6902585cc0/698a228b4ee26206c4319e9b/eileen-gu-three-medals.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Eileen Gu Wins Gold in Halfpipe – and Makes Olympic History ## Video: China Sees Boom in Winter Sports as It Hosts Beijing Olympics [Watch (HLS stream): China Sees Boom in Winter Sports as It Hosts Beijing Olympics](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/V0dBjYSO.m3u8) (2:25)  _Published 2022-02-18. China is building a thriving winter sports market as it hosts the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, with a goal towards developing it into a $157 billion industry by 2025. According to state news agency Xinhua, China has met its target of getting 300 million people to enjoy activities on ice and snow._ by [Amy Gunia](https://time.com/author/amy-gunia/) ## Amy Gunia Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong. Feb 18, 2022 3:56 AM UTC  Gold medallist Ailing Eileen Gu of Team China reacts during the Women's Freeski Halfpipe flower ceremony on Day 14 of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at Genting Snow Park on February 18, 2022 in Zhangjiakou, China. Gold medallist Ailing Eileen Gu of Team China reacts during the Women's Freeski Halfpipe flower ceremony on Day 14 of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at Genting Snow Park on February 18, 2022 in Zhangjiakou, China.Patrick Smith—Getty Images by [Amy Gunia](https://time.com/author/amy-gunia/) ## Amy Gunia Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong. Feb 18, 2022 3:56 AM UTC [Eileen Gu](https://time.com/6145992/eileen-gu-gold-big-air-beijing-olympics/) made winning her third medal of the 2022 Winter Games look easy on Friday morning, soaring so far ahead of the competition in the first run of the freeski halfpipe event that no one could catch up. Her performance was also history-making: Gu is the first action-sports athlete to capture three medals at the same Winter Games. Gu, who competes for China, pulled off a 93.25 in her first run, putting her the lead. She had an even stronger showing in her second run, [starting with](https://olympics.com/en/news/ailing-eileen-gu-freeski-medal-beijing-2022-halfpipe) back-to-back 900s, earning her a 95.25—a score that had the free skier smiling and giggling when it came in. The 18-year went into her third run knowing she’d already won gold. Canadians [Cassie Sharpe](https://olympics.com/beijing-2022/olympic-games/en/results/freestyle-skiing/event-schedule-women-s-freeski-halfpipe.htm) and Rachael Karker took silver and bronze, respectively. “I’m so proud of you guys,” Gu told her fellow medallists at the finish. “We’re so proud of you,” they replied.  Eileen Gu of Team China performs a trick on their third run during the Women's Freestyle Freeski Halfpipe Final on Day 14 of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at Genting Snow Park on February 18, 2022 in Zhangjiakou, China. Al Bello—Getty Images Gu, who was born in San Francisco to a Chinese mother and an American father, wore a hat with panda ears when she stepped onto the podium when the results were announced. Also known by her Chinese name, Gu Ailing, she had already won gold in big air gold on [Feb. 8](https://olympics.com/beijing-2022/olympic-games/en/results/freestyle-skiing/event-schedule-women-s-freeski-big-air.htm) and silver in slopestyle on Feb. 15. She isn’t just one of the best performing athletes of the Beijing Olympics, she’s also one of the most talked about. The skier, who was accepted into Stanford University and moonlights as a model for luxury brands like Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co., is so popular in China that chatter about her first gold medal [temporarily crashed Chinese social media platform Weibo](https://edition.cnn.com/2022/02/08/china/eileen-gu-wins-big-air-olympics-intl-hnk-spt/index.html). **READ MORE:** [_Free-Skier Eileen Gu Navigates the Road to the Winter Olympics in Beijing_](https://time.com/6137267/eileen-gu-beijing-olympics/) But she’s also faced criticism from some in the U.S. for choosing to compete for China at an Olympics marked by a [diplomatic boycott](https://time.com/6129154/beijing-olympics-boycott/) over China’s human rights abuses. She’s also sparked anger by telling people to follow her on [Instagram,](https://twitter.com/kerrya11en/status/1493923288631984135) which is blocked in China. Gu spent a few seasons competing for the U.S. at events, but in 2019 at the age of 15, she decided that she would switch national affiliation and compete for China in 2022. Friday’s halfpipe was the final event for Gu at the Winter Olympics. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6149340/eileen-gu-halfpipe-medals-beijing-olympics/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6149340/eileen-gu-halfpipe-medals-beijing-olympics/"},"headline":"Eileen Gu Wins Gold in Halfpipe – and Makes Olympic History","datePublished":"2022-02-18T03:56:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:54:30.614Z","description":"She is now the first action-sports athlete to capture three medals at the same Winter Games.","url":"https://time.com/6149340/eileen-gu-halfpipe-medals-beijing-olympics/","keywords":["2022 Beijing Olympics","wire","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt31a72f6902585cc0/698a228b4ee26206c4319e9b/eileen-gu-three-medals.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Amy Gunia","jobTitle":"Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong.","url":"https://time.com/author/amy-gunia/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt31a72f6902585cc0/698a228b4ee26206c4319e9b/eileen-gu-three-medals.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"eileen-gu-three-medals","caption":"Eileen Gu Three Medals","creditText":"Patrick Smith—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2022-beijing-olympics/","name":"2022 Beijing Olympics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6149340/eileen-gu-halfpipe-medals-beijing-olympics/","name":"Eileen Gu Wins Gold in Halfpipe – and Makes Olympic History"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"China Sees Boom in Winter Sports as It Hosts Beijing Olympics","description":"China is building a thriving winter sports market as it hosts the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, with a goal towards developing it into a $157 billion industry by 2025. 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