Chinese-American skier Eileen Gu
© Svend S. Nielsen, Shutterstock

Eileen Gu became the first freestyle skier to win three medals in a single Olympics at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Gu won gold medals in women’s ski big air and women’s halfpipe, as a member of the Chinese team. She also won the silver in women’s ski slopestyle at the 2022 Games. Gu is a popular Chinese-American freestyle skier, nicknamed “Frog Princess” for a green helmet she has worn in competition.

Gu competes in the halfpipe, slopestyle, and big air events. The halfpipe is an acrobatic event performed in a deep trough. In slopestyle, competitors perform on special courses that feature various obstacles. Big air involves a long, high jump during which the skier performs acrobatic moves.

Eileen Feng Gu, also called Gu Ailing, was born on Sept. 3, 2003, in San Francisco, California. Her mother, Yan Gu, immigrated to the United States from China. Gu grew up in San Francisco, raised by her mother and grandmother. She began skiing at 3 years old and freestyle skiing at 8 years old. She became a professional at age 16. Gu became the first student to graduate San Francisco University High School in three years in 2020.

Gu began her career representing the United States. She chose to represent China beginning in 2019, becoming a naturalized Chinese citizen. At the 2020 Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne, Switzerland, Gu won gold in big air and halfpipe, along with silver in slopestyle.

Gu became the first woman freestyle skier to land a double cork 1440—a trick that includes four horizontal rotations of 360 degrees and two vertical rotations—in November 2021. She became the first Chinese freestyle skier to earn multiple medals at the World Championships, with gold medals at the 2021 World Championships in Seiser Alm, Italy, and the 2022 World Championships in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Gu became the first Chinese X Games champion at the 2021 games in Aspen, Colorado. She was the only woman to compete in three disciplines and the first rookie to win three medals, earning gold in slopestyle and superpipe, a variation of the halfpipe, and bronze in big air.

Besides skiing, Gu has also had a successful modeling career. She has modeled for high fashion brands including Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Tiffany and Co.

American figure skating champion Nathan Chen
Credit: © Mladen Antonov, Getty Images

American figure skater Nathan Chen clinched his highly anticipated and long-awaited first gold medal at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, China. The men’s figure skating event is decided by combining scores from the short and long programs. At the 2022 Games, Chen set a world record in the men’s short program with a score of 113.97. The previous record was set by Japan’s Olympian Yuzuru Hanyu, with 111.82 in 2020. Chen has been gunning for gold since his last Olympic performance, in which Hanyu took gold at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Chen was a member of the United States team that won a bronze medal in team figure skating at the 2018 Games. Chen finished fifth in the men’s figure skating event at the 2018 Games, while cementing his nickname, the “Quad King.” He made Olympic history by becoming the first skater to land six quadruple jumps in one program. In a quadruple jump, the skater jumps and makes four full revolutions in the air.

Chen won the men’s World Figure Skating Championship sponsored by the International Skating Union (ISU) in 2018, 2019, and 2021. The ISU is the governing body of international figure skating. Chen also won the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in 2017, 2018, and 2019. The Grand Prix, organized by the ISU, includes six international figure skating events leading to a Final competition for the top skaters.

Chen won six U.S. Figure Skating Championships (also called the nationals, or U.S. Championships), consecutively from 2017 to 2022. U.S. Skating is the national governing body of figure skating in the United States. The organization sponsors competition at many levels, including novice, junior, and senior competitions that lead to national titles. During the U.S. nationals in 2017, Chen became the first skater to land five quadruple jumps in one program.

Chen was born on May 5, 1999, in Salt Lake City, Utah. His parents emigrated from China to the United States in 1988. Chen began skating at the age of three. He entered his first figure skating competition in 2003, at the age of four. Chen won the national novice title at the U.S. Championships in 2010, the youngest novice champion in the history of U.S. Figure Skating. For the 2011-2012 season, Chen moved up to the junior level and won the junior men’s title in 2012. He won the bronze medal at the 2014 World Junior Championships. He won the gold medal in the Final of the 2015 Junior Grand Prix.

Erin Jackson of USA competing on the 500m during the 2021 ISU World Cup on November 12, 2021 in Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Poland.
Credit: © Orange Pics BV/Alamy Images

The 2022 Winter Olympic Games commence this Friday, February 24, with the arrival of the legendary Olympic torch in Beijing, China. The torch was lit in Olympia, Greece, in October 2021 and began making its way to the Chinese capital. From February 2 to 4, it was carried by more than 1,000 people across the cities of Yanqing and Zhangjiakou and into Beijing. The procession included the first Olympic torch handover from robot to robot—underwater! Audiences were limited in person due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, so many watched the torch’s progress online.

The Games officially begin after the opening ceremony on Friday evening. The ceremony takes place at the National Stadium, nicknamed the “Bird’s Nest,” which was originally built for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. The themes of the ceremony showcase China’s “willingness to pursue world peace” and celebrate the Beijing Games’ slogan, “together for a shared future.” However, multiple countries’ officials will not be attending the Games in protest of human rights violations.

Beijing National Stadium, known as the “Bird’s Nest”

To keep athletes and Beijing residents safe from illness, international spectators will not be allowed to attend the events, and additional safety measures have been put in place. There will be 3,000 performers at the ceremony. The vast majority will be teenagers, who are at low risk of long-term health effects from the disease. Small groups of spectators will be invited to watch events at the Games as long as they abide by COVID-19 safety protocols.

Beijing is holding a record number of sporting events, with 109. There are seven new events at the Beijing 2022 Olympics in skiing, snowboarding, and monobob—that is bobsledding with a single athlete. Many events focused on mixed-gender teams, giving Beijing the greatest balance of women’s and men’s events in the Olympics yet.

The mascot of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games is a panda named Bing Dwen Dwen, from the Chinese words meaning ice and children. The design features a spacesuit to embody the future and a heart on Bing Dwen Dwen’s left paw to symbolize Chinese hospitality.