‘I promised her I’d be brave’: Olympic champion Gu Ailing opens up on grandmother’s death moments after historic gold and the courage behind her fearless performance

The roar of celebration had barely faded when Gu Ailing delivered a revelation that stunned the room. Fresh from defending her Olympic halfpipe title and further cementing her legacy, the 22 year old disclosed that she had learned of her grandmother’s death moments before facing the media. What should have been a purely triumphant occasion became a deeply personal reckoning with grief, courage and promise.



Speaking shortly after her gold medal performance at the Milan-Cortina Winter Games, Gu apologised for her late arrival at the press conference and explained the reason with striking composure. She said her grandmother had been a defining presence throughout her childhood, someone whose resilience shaped her own approach to life and sport. The news, she admitted, had arrived at the most emotionally charged moment of her career.

Gu described her grandmother as formidable and unyielding, a woman who never drifted through life but faced hardship head on. When they last saw each other before the Games, her grandmother was already seriously ill. Gu knew the risk she was taking by travelling to compete, but she made one promise that mattered more than medals.





Rather than vow victory, Gu promised she would be brave. That pledge became the backbone of her Olympic campaign. It guided her decision to take risks, to trust her instincts and to compete across three demanding disciplines despite limited preparation in the halfpipe. She later reflected that this sense of courage, borrowed from her grandmother, carried her through moments of doubt and physical strain.

On the day of the final, Gu delivered a last run score of 94.75, a performance that secured gold and added to the silver medals she had already claimed in slopestyle and big air. The result pushed her career Olympic total to six medals across two Games, officially making her the most decorated freeskier in Olympic history. Yet the achievement felt inseparable from loss.



Gu said she believed she had honoured her promise and hoped her grandmother would have been proud. At the same time, she acknowledged the weight of the moment and the difficulty of celebrating while grieving. Her honesty cut through the usual post victory rhetoric and offered a rare glimpse into the emotional toll elite sport can carry.



What unfolded in Livigno was more than a sporting milestone. It was a reminder that behind record breaking performances are human stories marked by love and loss. Gu’s words resonated far beyond the halfpipe, reframing her success as an act of personal courage rather than simple dominance.



As the Games continue, her gold medal will stand as another chapter in an extraordinary career. But the story that lingered most was not about scores or statistics. It was about a young athlete keeping a promise, finding strength in grief and redefining what bravery looks like on the world’s biggest stage.