Lindsey Vonn has sent her fellow Winter Olympian Eileen Gu an emotional message of support after the Chinese athlete announced the death of her grandmother.
The freestyle skier was only told of the devastating news between clinching her gold medal in halfpipe on Sunday and attending a press conference to discuss her victory.
Later on Sunday, Gu posted a heartbreaking tribute to Feng Guozhen with a series of photos of her grandmother. She captioned the post: ‘Because I promised her I would be brave like her.’
Vonn, who is currently recovering from the fifth surgery on her broken leg suffered early on during the Games, replied.
The American skier wrote: ‘Grandmas are so special. I’m so sorry.’
Gu broke down in tears during her press conference after her halfpipe victory gave her a record-breaking third Olympic gold medal in freeskiing.
Lindsey Vonn sent an emotional message to Eileen Gu following the death of her grandmother
Gu learned of the passing of Feng Guozhen after winning another Olympic gold on Sunday
Gu posted a heartbreaking tribute to her grandmother with a series of photos of them
After arriving later than scheduled, the 22-year-old said: ‘The reason I was late is that I just found out that my grandma passed away. She was a really big part of my life growing up and someone I looked up to immensely.
‘She was so strong, she was a fighter and I think what’s so interesting is that a lot of people just cruise through life but she was a steamship.
‘This woman commanded life and she grabbed it by the reins and she made it into what she wanted it to be and she inspired me so much. The last time I saw her before I came to the Olympics she was very sick so I knew that 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 like she has been brave and that’s why I keep referring to this theme of betting on myself and being brave and taking risks.
‘It actually goes back to that promise that I made my grandma and so I’m really happy that I was able to uphold that and hopefully do her proud but it’s also a really difficult time for me now so I really apologise for being late but that’s what was going on.’
Throughout the Games, Gu has faced backlash over her decision to change nationalities from the US to China prior to the Beijing Olympics.
In recent days, vice president JD Vance joined those taking a swipe at Gu, who is now the most successful freestyle skier in history.
Gu – the daughter of an American father and a Chinese mother who grew up in San Francisco – represented Team USA until the age of 15 when she switched to the country of her mother’s birth.
Her allegiance came under heavy criticism from American fans, who claimed her decision was solely motivated by sponsorship money from China.
Gu has banked a staggering $23 million over the past year. But of that fortune, it is estimated that only about $20,000 actually came from endeavors on the slopes.
Gu has faced backlash over her decision to change nationalities from the US to China
Celebrating her latest gold, Gu said: ‘I’m so proud of how I’ve done this Olympics. I chose to do three events knowing that I had to train halfpipe in two months, knowing that I would miss the half-pipe training in case I made big air finals, which I also hadn’t competed in in four years.
‘Being able to really trust myself that when it came down to the moment, that I would be able to perform to the best of my ability regardless of medal color or medal in general – that’s a big bet. And also the difficulty of competing in three events, making finals in three events. I had to compete six times.
‘I kind of liken it to a marathon, but the pace of a 100m dash. Because every day is the Olympics. I have to give 100 per cent every day. So there’s no day that I can just chill a little, because every day matters.
‘So I guess what I mean to say with that is I have done something that I took a big risk in trusting myself, and I’m glad that I did.
‘I walk away as the most decorated free skier of all time, male or female, and the most gold medals of any free skier ever, male or female. And that is something that I’m so, so proud of. It’s unbelievable to me. It’s still surreal.’
