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Eileen Gu, the controversial aerial skiing star who competes for China despite being born in the United States, was unable to defend her gold medal on Monday night at the 2026 Cortina Games in Milan.
Gu took the silver medal in the women’s big air freeski competition, while Canada’s Megan Oldham won gold.
Gu scored a 90.00 in her first race, which was tied on the field for third place, as Oldham and Austria’s Lara Wolf had better scores.
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Gold medalist Megan Oldham of Team Canada, Sick silver medalist Eileen Gu of Team China and bronze medalist Flora Tabanelli of Team Italy pose for a photo during the medal ceremony for the Women’s Freeski Big Air on the tenth day of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Livigno Snow Park on February 16, 2026 in Livigno, Italy. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
But Gu’s mistake came on the second pass, where he couldn’t catch the tail of his ski cleanly and his landing was unstable, leading to a score of 61.25.
At that time, Gu was left without a medal with one race remaining. In this competition, the two best scores of each skier are combined.
In the final race, Gu managed to score 89.00, giving him a final total of 179.00. That was enough for second place, but Oldham eventually had a slight 1.75 point lead over Gu.
OLYMPIAN CONTROVERSIAL EILEEN GU UPSET ABOUT ‘REALLY UNFAIR’ WINTER GAMES SCHEDULE
Italian Flora Tabanelli finished with bronze in the event.
However, Gu was not bothered by the result, noting that he won five Olympic medals in his two appearances at the Games. The first was in Beijing in 2022, where he took home gold in big air and halfpipe, and silver in slopestyle.
At this year’s Games, Gu earned a silver medal in slopestyle, with halfpipe being her remaining event at the end of this week.
“‘Five-time Olympic medalist’ sounds really good,” Gu told reporters after the event.
Ahead of this medal event, Gu criticized the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) for how tight the Olympic schedule has been for her, saying it prevents her from getting the proper training sessions she needs for a freeski event.
Gold medalist Megan Oldham of Team Canada, Sick silver medalist Eileen Gu of Team China and bronze medalist Flora Tabanelli of Team Italy pose for a victory selfie during the medal ceremony for the Women’s Freeski Big Air on the tenth day of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Livigno Snow Park on February 16, 2026 in Livigno, Italy. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Gu is the sport’s only three-event athlete and says competing on Monday night makes it impossible for her to adequately prepare for the halfpipe finals qualifying round, which begins Thursday.
“I’m disappointed in the FIS,” she said. “I think the Olympics should embody aspiration, and I think being able to do something beyond the ordinary should be celebrated rather than punished.
“I think it’s really unfair. I think it’s a punishment for excellence, to be completely honest with you. Because I dare to participate in three events, and this makes it completely impossible to train fairly for the third event.”
Gu became a controversial figure in action sports in 2019 when he made the decision to ski for China instead of the United States in the upcoming 2022 Olympics. He grew up in California and went to Stanford, although his mother is a first-generation Chinese immigrant to the United States.
Gu said at the time that it was an “incredibly difficult” decision and that Americans did not like his decision very much given the geopolitical tension between the United States and China.
Sick silver medalist Eileen Gu of Team People’s Republic of China looks on during the medal ceremony for the Women’s Freeski Big Air on the tenth day of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the Livigno Snow Park on February 16, 2026 in Livigno, Italy. (Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
Gu, meanwhile, was celebrated in China for her selection, but one big question still looms: She remains one of the best in the sport.
Since China does not allow dual citizenship for its athletes and requires Chinese nationality for those who compete, has Gu renounced his US citizenship? She hasn’t answered the question.
While Gu looks ahead to Thursday’s halfpipe heats, the event finals are this Saturday.
