Skier Eileen Gu of Team China has been a breakout star of the Beijing Winter Olympics. She has won three medals – two gold and one silver – and was a voice for women’s equality at the Olympics.
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Skier Eileen Gu of Team China has been a breakout star of the Beijing Winter Olympics. She has won three medals – two gold and one silver – and was a voice for women’s equality at the Olympics.
Cameron Spencer / Getty Images
BEIJING – When Eileen Gu, a freestyle skier from California competing for China, stepped onto the microphone after winning two golds and one silver, she was introduced as the “princess” of China. Beijing Olympics.
The Chinese media has dubbed Gu the ‘snow princess’. This 18-year-old is a remarkable athlete – twisting and turning in the air above half a tube.
She is also the standout star of this Winter Olympics, dominating the news in China and emerging as an international sports brand.
Gold medalist Gu Ailing Eileen of China stands on the podium during the ceremony held after the women’s freeski half-round on February 18, 2022.
Marco Bertorello / AFP via Getty Images
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Gold medalist Gu Ailing Eileen of China stands on the podium during the ceremony held after the women’s freeski half-round on February 18, 2022.
Marco Bertorello / AFP via Getty Images
Gu told reporters at the crowded press conference: “It’s an honor to be the first freestyle skier to hit the podium in three events as a woman. “It also makes me very hopeful about what the next generation can achieve.”
This is the kind of story that Olympic officials love to highlight. Women have made great strides since the first Winter Olympics a century ago when only a handful of women competed.
Almost half of the athletes in Beijing are women
IOC spokesman Mark Adams says the gender balance is now almost equal. “We have a record number – 45.4% women – competing [in Beijing]”he said.
That gradual development reflects the work of international sports officials, who added a new women-only event this year, monobob . sled competitionas well as other mixed events where men and women compete against each other.
“It sends a signal from the IOC to the National Olympic Committees that they need to build up the capacity of their women’s teams and invest in their women’s teams, their female athletes,” said Adams.
The IOC has also gradually transformed its approach to broadcasting the Olympics. All television images from Beijing are filmed by the IOC’s internal operation known as the Olympic Broadcasting Service. That footage was then distributed to pay networks like NBC in the US
OBS has previously faced criticism for sexizing female athletes but the organization’s head Yiannis Exarchos says it has been better at presenting women in non-gendered ways.
“It’s not about who’s beautiful or attractive,” says Exarchos. “It’s about portraying giant athletes whether they’re male or female.”
Who holds the power in international sports?
But while women’s participation and representation at the Olympics has improved, critics point out there is a dark side to the way women are treated at the Games.
Women have fewer events, which means fewer medal chances. They usually make less money. There are also fewer female coaches and top sports executives.
This lack of power has been highlighted in Beijing by the case of Kamila Valieva, a 15-year-old Russian figure skater who has found herself at the center of an international doping scandal.
IOC head Thomas Bach admitted that Valieva seemed incapable of making decisions about her own fate.
“Perhaps she would prefer to just leave the tape and just have this story behind her,” he said.
Other women figure skaters have responded to Valieva’s case by calling for more protection for women and girls in their sport.
“It’s extremely important to…beyond boundaries.”
Skier Eileen Gu said this week she believes other sports need progress as well.
“The extreme sports we all know are predominantly male-dominated and it is not as representative and fair as possible,” says Gu.
“I think as a young woman of two races, it’s paramount… to cross the line. That’s what pave the way for the next generation of girls.”
Gu said she decided to focus more of her time on skiing, writing books and enrolling at Stanford University.
A footnote on gender balance at these Games.
While women compete in fewer events than men, the majority of US gold medals at this Winter Olympics have been won by US women, in events where they compete alone or in sports. mixed sports with male partners.
Erin Jackson of Team America wins the women’s 500m skating event on February 13, 2022 at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
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Erin Jackson of Team America wins the women’s 500m skating event on February 13, 2022 at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Richard Heathcote / Getty Images
