(CNN)Eileen Gu and Kamila Valieva became the teenage faces of the Winter Olympics, but their memories of Beijing 2022 are likely to be very different.
A native of San Francisco, Gu is now a two-time gold medalist, the youngest freestyle ski champion at the Olympic Games, a Chinese national hero — and a budding author.
Born and raised in California, Gu decided to compete for China – where her mother was born – in 2019 and became the first freestyle skier in history to win three medals in games and in both the halfpipe and big air events won gold.
“I’m writing a book,” Gu told reporters on Saturday. “I’ve been journaling for years because I knew the way I grew up was different, interesting and special, I want to share it with everyone in the future.”
role model
Hailed as “the pride of China” after winning her first gold, Gu has since won more medals for the country at the Games than anyone.
But Gu doesn’t see her performances at Beijing 2022 as purely personal – they also serve a larger representational purpose, according to the 18-year-old.
“We all know that extreme sports are heavily male-dominated and stereotypically haven’t had the kind of representation and sporting justice that they should,” Gu said.
“So I think as a young multiracial woman it’s super important to reach those milestones and push boundaries – not just my own limitations but those of the sport and those of the record books because that’s what it is paves the past for the next generation of girls.”
Known as Gu Ailing in China, the young star’s face was all over the country before the Olympics – on billboards, commercials, magazine covers and state television in the run-up to the home games.
Not surprisingly, given her success in Beijing 2022, her sky-high popularity continued to soar.
“When you see yourself in sports, it completely changes your perception of what you can do in it,” Gu added.
“So one of my biggest goals is to have fun for myself, but also to push the boundaries of the labels that people are put into.”
“Very, very concerned”
In contrast, Valieva leaves Beijing amid an ongoing drug testing scandal and a “traumatizing” skating performance.
The 15-year-old Russian figure skater was touted to shine at the Winter Olympics and she did – making history by becoming the first woman to land a quad at the Games.
However, a day after helping the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) win gold in the team competition, the Russian teenager was banned.
The February 8 suspension came after it was revealed that Valieva had tested positive for the banned heart drug trimetazidine in December 2021, although the result was not analyzed and reported to the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) until February.
Valieva was subsequently cleared to compete in the individual figure skating event, but a dominant start ended in tears after she fell multiple times during the deciding free skate to finish fourth off the podium on Thursday.
After the 15-year-old left the rink in tears, former US Olympic figure skater Polina Edmunds described the experience as “very traumatizing” for the youngster.
Edmunds’ uneasiness was echoed by International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach, who said he was “very, very disturbed” when he saw Valieva’s performance on television.
“How high the pressure must have been on her,” Bach told reporters during a media conference on Friday.
“The pressure is beyond my imagination, especially for a 15-year-old girl. Seeing her struggle on the ice, seeing her trying to collect herself, trying to finish her program.
“In every movement in the body language … you could feel that this is immense, immense mental stress and maybe she would have preferred to just get off the ice.” And try to leave that story behind.”
“chilling atmosphere”
Bach also said that he “didn’t have much faith in Kamila’s closest entourage”, noting that he remarked “how she was received… with what seemed like an enormous coldness, it was chilling to see.”
“Instead of giving her comfort. Instead of trying to help her… you could feel this chill vibe. These distance gestures.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has dismissed Bach’s comments, saying that while he respected his opinion, he “didn’t necessarily agree.”
“Thomas Bach is a very respected person in sport, he is the chairman of the International Olympic Committee and of course we respect his point of view, but we don’t necessarily agree with him,” Peskov told reporters in a briefing on Friday.
Peskov added that while Bach didn’t like to see the ‘hard’ tactics in the game, “everyone knows that in high-performing sports, a coach’s tenacity is the key to victory,” adding, “We can see the performances of the Athletes see those victories. And trainers. So let’s be proud of our winners.”
Lizzy Yee, Angus Watson, Selina Wang, David Close, Jacob Lev, Jeevan Ravindran, and Ben Morse contributed to this report
Add Comment