Image Source: Visual China

BEIJING, February 8 (TMTPOST) — Eileen Gu won China’s third gold medal and her first gold medal of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games on Tuesday.

Gu, who is only 18 years old, secured her top position at the women's big air competition with her third run, scoring 94.5 with a 1620 and a perfect landing. Her total score reached 188.25, narrowly beating France's Tess Ledeux, who took silver with a score of 187.50. Switzerland's Mathilde Gremaud won the bronze.

"That was the best moment of my life. The happiest moment, day, whatever -- of my life. I just cannot believe what just happened," said Gu after her overpowering and overwhelming triumph. "Even if I didn't land it, I felt it would send a message out to the world and hopefully encourage more girls to break their own boundaries.”

“That was my biggest goal going into my last run. I reminded myself to have fun and enjoy the moment and that, no matter what, I was so grateful to even have this opportunity to even be here," GU said.

Gu has become an Olympic sensation as her Chinese fans celebrated her victory on social media.

Chinese fans’ appreciation of Gu also leads to a surge of commercial items associated with her. Xingdu JF Dry Ski Four Season Resort receives increasing popularity because Gu trained there before going to the Winter Games. Search requests about the ski resort have jumped by 15 times on online booking and tourism service platform ly.com.

Gu’s commercial value was already detected by brands. The 18-year-old athlete is a brand ambassador for over 20 brands, including Faction Skis, Anta, Mengniu, Oakley, Beats by Dre, GOSKI, SKSHU Paint, Bank of China, China Mobile, Louis Vuitton, BY-Health and Luckin Coffee.

Born in 2003, Eileen Feng Gu, also known as Gu Ailing, is a American-Chinese freestyle skier in halfpipe, slopestyle, and big air events. She began to compete for China in 2019.