Born in the United States and now competing for China, Gu captured gold in the women’s halfpipe freestyle ski final in Valtellina, posting a score of 94.75 on her third and final run.
The 22-year-old also reached the podium in the women’s big air and slopestyle events, securing silver medals in both.
Eileen Gu with her three medals at the Livigno Snow Park in the Valtellina valley, Lombardy, Italy, during the Winter Olympics on Feb. 22, 2026. Photo by AP |
Following her performances at this year’s Games, she has become the most decorated freestyle skier in Olympic history. Beyond her physical ability, Gu has demonstrated the mental resilience that underpins her standout results.
“I spend a lot of time in my head… I journal a lot. I break down all of my thought processes,” Gu told Fortune.
“I apply a very analytical lens to my own thinking, and I modify it.
“You can control what you think. You can control how you think. And therefore, you can control who you are. And especially as a young person, I’m 22, so with neuroplasticity on my side, I can literally become exactly who I want to be.”
She added: “Yes, I spend a lot of time in my own head. Yes, I think a lot. But it’s not really in an egotistical way. It’s in a tinkering, like a scientist way.
“I’m always trying to modify. I’m trying to think, ‘How can I be better? How can I approach my own brain the way that I approach my craft of free skiing?’ So that I can be better tomorrow than I was.”
Arianna Huffington, co-founder of Huffington Post and CEO of Thrive Global, endorsed Gu’s approach, saying her brain-training ritual and achievements underscore the influence of mindset.
Writing on X, she said: “Athletes don’t just magically create routines and habits. They’re supported by coaches who use the principles of behavioral science to set them up for success. That means using techniques to reduce decision fatigue and lower stress.
“Through neuroplasticity, the small choices we repeat every day can strengthen our neural circuits and rewire our brains to make certain behaviors more automatic, which is exactly what Gu has trained her mind to do.”
For years, scientists believed the adult human brain was largely fixed, developing in childhood before stabilizing in early adulthood with little meaningful change thereafter.
Neuroplasticity, however, recasts the brain as a dynamic system shaped by experience, effort and time.
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