Chinese Skier Eileen Gu Qualifies for Final in “Golden Dragon Coat”

Eileen Gu, an American-born Chinese skier, completed her competition debut dressed in a “golden dragon ski suit” at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games on Monday. Afterwards, she successfully qualified to compete for another medal for Team China on Tuesday.

In a post-competition interview, 18-year-old Gu revealed that the coat and skis were designed by herself. The design features a golden Chinese dragon on the reverse of the clothing and along the snowboard. “A dragon among humans” is written on the back of skis. The athlete explained that the dragon design is to spread Chinese culture.

Previously, Gu showed her skiing equipment designed for the Winter Olympics on social media platforms, particularly the dragon design on her helmet and coat and golden clouds on the back of the coat. “Gold brings good luck and a gold medal is one of my goals,” Gu said.

Freeski Big Air Qualification is a new event in Winter Olympics. In the qualifying round, each player needs to take three runs with the final score determined by the best two scores.

Gu ranked third on her first run, but made a mistake in the second run because the snowboard fell off, but she did not fall down. After the mistake, she completed the third run flawlessly. Chinese netizens praised her efforts, “Who doesn’t love a strong and optimistic girl?” “Eileen Gu is always in good taste”.

Born in San Francisco, California, Gu changed her national affiliation from American to Chinese in June 2019. Gu announced her decision to ski for China in 2019 after her first World Cup win in Italy.

SEE ALSO: Prospective Chinese Olympian Eileen Gu Wins Second Gold Medal at World Championships

In addition, the commercial value of this world-class skier should not be underestimated. She has signed brand ambassador contracts with many Chinese brands including Anta Sports, dairy producer China Mengniu Dairy, Beverage brand Red Bull and Luckin Coffee.