Olympics 2022 -- Freeski star Eileen Gu's delicate balancing act between China and the U.S.
EILEEN GU THRUSTS her fists into the sky, ski poles dangling from her wrists, as she skis to a stop at the base of the Dew Tour halfpipe in Copper Mountain, Colorado. Her second-run score of 96 flashes on the outdoor monitor and the small crowd gathered on this bitter December morning erupts in support. Gu leads the event by nearly three points but isn't the type to take a victory lap, so on her third and final run, she attempts a right corked 1080 — a trick she has yet to land in competition — and comes up a few degrees short. «I was really proud of my second run and wanted to step it up,» Gu says after the contest. «I know I'll get the 10 next time.»
