Video resurfaces of Eileen Gu’s grandmother after emotional Milan Winter Olympics moment

Eileen Gu stood on top of the podium at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan after winning gold in women’s freestyle skiing halfpipe. It was a huge moment. She had just defended the Olympic title she first won in 2022. In total, she left Milan with three medals. But behind that proud smile, there was deep pain.

Soon after her final event, Eileen Gu learned that her grandmother, Feng Guozhen, had passed away. During her press conference, she fought back tears and spoke about the woman who shaped her life. Within hours, an old video of the two began circulating again online, reminding fans of the powerful bond they shared. The clip, first shared earlier by Shanghai Daily on X, suddenly felt more meaningful than ever.

Eileen Gu and Feng Guozhen: The bond behind the Olympic champion

In the resurfaced video, Eileen Gu wears a red fuzzy hat and smiles shyly as her grandmother praises her. Feng Guozhen says, “I think my granddaughter is excellent; she is excellent in all aspects.” Eileen laughs and replies, “Really? I’ve been praised like this…”




Then she shares a memory from seventh grade. She was running a three-kilometer cross-country race in the United States. “I was running and I heard, ‘Eileen number one! Eileen number one!’ But I was second,” she said in the clip. Confused, she turned around and saw her grandmother cheering loudly with other parents.

Feng Guozhen later told her, “Because I want you to sprint and cheer you on.” Eileen Gu admitted she never understood how her grandmother, who mainly spoke Mandarin, managed to gather American parents to support her that day. “But this may be the source of my greatest confidence,” she said.

At her Milan Olympics press conference, Eileen Gu spoke again about her grandmother. “She inspired me so much. The last time I saw her before I came to the Olympics, she was very sick, so I knew this was a possibility. I didn’t promise her that I was going to win, but I did promise her that I was going to be brave. She has been brave.”

Eileen Gu was raised in San Francisco by her mother, Yan Gu, and her grandmother. Feng Guozhen, a former senior engineer from China, moved to the United States to help raise her. She taught Eileen Mandarin and kept her close to her Chinese roots during long summers in Beijing.

More than anything, she built her confidence. Eileen once described her grandmother as “fiercely confident” and someone who never “cruised through life.” That strength stayed with her in Milan, even in the hardest moment of her career.




Get the latest ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 updates, including the full schedule, teams, live scores, points table, and key series stats such as top run-scorers and wicket-takers.