Eileen Gu wins gold at X Games. Olympic contender on rise

photo via Facebook

San Francisco’s Eileen Gu took the Gold Saturday in the Women’s Ski Slopestyle. It’s her second gold and third medal this week at the X Games, cementing her position as the break out star of the games, reports ESPN.

“This is something I wouldn’t even dare to dream of. I came into this contest with a goal of getting one podium, and I thought that was ambitious,” Gu said to the Aspen Times. “It’s really just the adrenaline of my first X Games and being so hyped to be here that it was able to get me through. I probably am going to go hibernate for 24 hours straight now and not talk to anybody because I’m exhausted now. But I couldn’t be happier.”

She is just the fourth athlete in X Game history to win three medals. She is also the first woman to win two golds during her rookie season, according to ESPN. She won the gold Friday in the Ski Superpipe and a bronze in the women ski bigair.

The 17-year old is something special, not only because of her athletic prowess. She is also a model, is scheduled to study at Stanford in the fall, and also an accomplished pianist.

She recently naturalized as a Chinese citizen and is expected to compete for China at the Beijing Olympics where she will contend for a gold medal.

“Just absolutely insane. I’m definitely really tired. I’ve been taking naps in between every event. Just 45-minute power naps — I found those help me a lot,” Gu said about making her Aspen debut to the Aspen Times. “I go into every contest with the intention of winning, but not the expectation, of course. I look up to every single girl in the field, especially since it’s my first X Games.”

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