With the roar of home fans cheering her on, China's Eileen Gu cruised to victory in the women's freestyle skiing halfpipe final on Friday, claiming her second gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.
Gu, who has become the popular face of the Beijing Games, was in full command of the contest from the start, soaring above the pipe higher than any other skier as she nailed back-to-back 900s with advanced midair grabs.
With her gold medal assured after her second-run score of 95.25, an exhausted and emotional Gu decided to take a final victory lap, carving the Olympic pipe for the last time as she soaked up cheers from the crowd.
"I felt like for the first time I really deserved it, and I really earned it," the 18-year-old said.
Breaking down in tears, Gu told reporters her victory was the result of years of hard work where she juggled hours of daily training with her career as a model and student.
"It's like letting out a deep breath," Gu said wearing a panda hat that she changed into after the final.
"I feel exhausted, from opening ceremony to today I've been skiing every day so I'm really tired but I feel at peace, I feel grateful, I feel passionate and I feel proud," she said.
With her 5.5 million followers on China's Twitter-like Weibo and series of luxury brand endorsements, Gu has styled herself as an ambassador for winter sports while dodging sensitive questions about China's human rights record.
The San Francisco-born skier, who competed for the U.S. team when she was younger but switched to compete for China in 2019, had said her goal was to reach the podium in all three of her events.
Gu achieved that goal, picking up gold in Big Air and silver in slopestyle before nabbing yet another gold at Friday.
Asked if she would defend her titles in the next Winter Games, Gu left her options open, "I love skiing, I still would love to continue competing, but in terms of resources of time and what else I'm juggling, it just depends, right?" she answered at a crowded news conference
The stands at the Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou, normally sparsely filled due to the pandemic, was packed with fans who began chanting Gu's name even before she dropped into the course.
A large crowd of Team China staff bundled up in white and red puffer jackets unfurled the national flag at the bottom of the halfpipe, while others waved blue placards bearing Gu's name in Chinese.
Canada's Cassie Sharpe, who won gold in the event in Pyeongchang four years ago settled for silver with her highest score of 90.75, while fellow Canadian Rachael Karker took bronze with her best run of 87.75.
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