Skier Eileen Gu injured in New Zealand training mishap

Eileen Gu, an American-born Chinese skier and Olympic freestyle gold medalist, sustained an injury while training in New Zealand at the Cardrona Skifield on Aug. 15. Following the incident, the 21-year-old athlete was transported to Christchurch for further medical scans the next day. On the Chinese social media platform Weibo, where she has 6.7 million followers, Gu shared about the unfortunate accident caused by a man-made error and expressed her hopes for a speedy recovery. Information regarding the specifics of Gu's injury or current state has not been disclosed. Gu, who just returned from a shoulder injury that prevented her from participating in the Asian Winter Games, triumphed with two gold medals in freestyle skiing at the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games when she was 18. She has since changed her sporting allegiance to represent China and is scheduled to compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy. In her Weibo post, Gu mentioned a potential role of an over-enthusiastic fan in her injury and emphasized the importance of uninterrupted focus during training sessions. The Forbes list identified Gu as the second-highest-earning female athlete in 2023 with $22.1 million, trailing behind tennis star Iga Swiatek.