San Francisco's Eileen Gu Wins Olympic Big Air Silver, Bay Area Cheers

Eileen Gu screamed "Oh my god!" as her skis skidded down the slope at Livigno Snow Park after landing a left double-cork 1260 with a toxic grab that propelled her from sixth to second in the women’s freestyle big air final on Feb. 16 at Milano-Cortina 2026. Canada’s Megan Oldham took gold with a total of 180.75, and 18-year-old Italian Flora Tabanelli earned bronze in her Olympic debut.

The silver gives Gu her fifth Olympic medal in freestyle skiing, a milestone that places her among the sport’s most decorated athletes. When asked whether these were "two silvers gained or two goals lost," Gu replied, "I'm the most decorated free skier, female free skier in history. I think that's a answer in and of itself. Um how do I say this? Winning a medal at the Olympics is a life-changing experience for every athlete. Doing it five times is exponentially harder because every medal is equally hard for me, but everybody else's expectations rise, right? And so the two medals lost situation, to be quite frank with you, I think is kind of a ridiculous perspective to take. Um, I'm showcasing my best skiing. I'm doing things that quite literally have never been done before. And so I think that is more than good enough. But thank you."

Gu had not competed in big air since Beijing 2022, a gap NYTimes described as "astonishing" given her Olympic pedigree. She said she approached the event cautiously: "Being my first Big Air event in four years, I came into it with very realistic expectations." Gu also emphasized last-minute preparation, adding, "I learned that left-side double cork 1260 in training for this contest, so I’m so happy I landed it under pressure."

The path to the podium was bumpy. Gu qualified for the finals after an "uncharacteristic fall in the first" qualifying run and an impressive second run, and the final itself was delayed by an unexpected evening blizzard at Livigno Snow Park that held the field up for more than an hour. Earlier in the Games she was narrowly edged in slopestyle, "pipped into silver by 0.38," making the big air comeback more consequential for her overall program.

Scheduling also became an issue: after qualifying for big air finals Sunday night, Gu criticized a conflict that would force her to miss one of her three-hour halfpipe training sessions, calling it "really unfair and difficult for me to deal with." She still has one final shot at gold in the halfpipe, scheduled for Saturday night in the Milano-Cortina competition timetable.

Gu’s ties to the Bay Area surfaced again in the aftermath. San Francisco-born and raised, she drew celebratory reaction across the Bay Area; as a teenager she regularly ran the Bay to Breakers and completed a half-marathon during San Francisco Marathon weekend in 2022 in 1:41:07, finishing second in her age category. She also studies international relations at Stanford University, and local interest in her Milano-Cortina performances remains high.

Controversy has shadowed Gu’s career, her decision to compete for China continues to generate debate, but fellow competitors pointed to mutual respect on the hill. "She encourages us and we encourage her," Kim Dumont Zanella said, and Switzerland’s Gremaud described Gu as "more doing her thing." With five Olympic freeski medals and the halfpipe still ahead, Gu remains a central, polarizing and defining figure of these Games.