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Eileen Gu, the controversial big air ski star who competes for China despite being born in the United States, was unable to defend her gold medal Monday night at the Milan Cortina 2026 Games.
Gu won the silver medal in the women’s big air free ski competition, while Canada’s Megan Oldham won gold.
Gu notched a 90.00 in her first run, putting her tied on the field of competitors for third place, with Oldham and Austria’s Lara Wolf having higher scores.
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Gold medalist Megan Oldham of Team Canada, silver medalist Ailing Eileen Gu of Team People’s Republic of China and bronze medalist Flora Tabanelli of Team Italy pose for a photo during the medal ceremony for the Women’s Freeski Big Air on the tenth day of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Livigno Snow Park on February 16, 2026 in Livigno, Italy. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
But Gu’s mistake came in the second run, where she failed to grab the tail of her ski cleanly and her landing was shaky, earning her a score of 61.25.
At that point, Gu was out of a medal position with one point to play for. In this competition, the two best scores are combined for each skier.
In the final round, Gu managed to score 89.00, giving him a final total of 179.00. This was good enough for second place, but Oldham ultimately had a slight 1.75 point advantage over Gu.
Controversial Olympian EILEEN GU upset over ‘really unfair’ Winter Games schedule
Italian Flora Tabanelli finished with bronze in this event.
Gu was not upset by the result, however, pointing out that she had won five Olympic medals in her two appearances at the Games. Her first time was in Beijing in 2022, where she won gold in big air and halfpipe, while taking silver in slopestyle.
At this year’s Games, Gu took a silver medal in Slopestyle, with halfpipe the remaining event for her later this week.
“‘Quintuple Olympic medalist’ sounds pretty good,” Gu told reporters after the event.
Before that gold medal event, Gu hit out at the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) for how tight the Olympic schedule was for her, saying it prevented her from getting the proper training sessions she needed for a free ski event.
Gold medalist Megan Oldham of Team Canada, silver medalist Ailing Eileen Gu of Team People’s Republic of China and bronze medalist Flora Tabanelli of Team Italy pose for a victory selfie during the medal ceremony for the Women’s Freeski Big Air on the tenth day of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Livigno Snow Park on February 16, 2026 in Livigno, Italy. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Gu is the only athlete to have competed in three events in the sport, and she says competing Monday night prevents her from properly preparing for the qualifying round of the halfpipe final, which begins Thursday.
“I am disappointed with the FIS,” she said. “I think the Olympics should embody aspiration, and I think being able to do something out of the ordinary should be celebrated rather than punished.
“I think it’s really unfair. I think it punishes excellence, to be completely honest with you. Because I dare to compete in three events, and it makes it completely impossible to train fairly for the third event.”
Gu became a controversial action sports figure in 2019 when she made the decision to ski for China rather than the United States in the upcoming 2022 Olympics. She grew up in California and went to Stanford, although her mother was a first-generation Chinese immigrant to the United States.
Gu said at the time that it was an “incredibly difficult” decision and that Americans weren’t too keen on his decision given the geopolitical tension between the United States and China.
Silver medalist Ailing Eileen Gu of Team People’s Republic of China looks on during the medal ceremony for the Women’s Freeski Big Air on the tenth day of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Livigno Snow Park on February 16, 2026 in Livigno, Italy. (Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Gu has been celebrated in China for her choice, but a giant question still looms as she continues to be one of the best in the sport.
While China does not allow dual citizenship for its athletes and requires Chinese citizenship for those who compete, has Gu renounced her American citizenship? She did not answer the question.
While Gu eyes the halfpipe qualifiers on Thursday, the event’s final will take place this Saturday.
