With Big Air Silver, Eileen Gu's Olympic Medal Streak Remains Unbroken

Two events so far at these Olympics. Two medals, too.

China’s Eileen Gu is well on her way to repeating an Olympic medal hat trick after placing second in the women's big air competition on Monday. She earned silver last week in the women’s slopestyle competition.

Her streak continues. Gu, at 22 years old, still hasn’t entered an Olympic competition without earning a medal. 

In fact, she hasn’t placed lower than second. At the 2022 Beijing Games, she nabbed two golds and one silver, becoming the first freestyle skier to claim three medals at one Games. 

The idea that she “lost” the big air and slopestyle golds this year seems, to her, absurd. 

“Winning a medal in the Olympics is a life-changing experience, and doing it five times is exponentially hard,” she said, per The Associated Press. “The ‘two medals lost’ perspective is ridiculous to take. I am showcasing my best skiing and doing things that have never been done before, so that is more than enough.”

For Canada’s Megan Oldham, who won the big air competition, it was also her second Olympic medal in 2026, joining a slopestyle bronze. She competed in the Olympics in 2022, too, but failed to medal, finishing fourth in big air and 13th in slopestyle.

With her gold medal performance, she delivered a milestone for Canada, claiming the country’s first women’s medal in big air, which organizers added to the Olympic roster in 2022. 

“I’m just so proud of myself and the team that’s been behind me to get me here to this moment and, thankfully, at the Olympics, I haven’t had to think even once about my head at all,” Oldham, who suffered a concussion a few months ago and was unsure if she’d compete in Italy, said, according to The Athletic.

“I’ve just felt 100 percent and been able to really showcase my best skiing, so I’m so happy to be feeling healthy and be able to show my best skiing here at the Olympics,” she continued.

The Italian Flora Tabanelli rounded out the podium, placing third. At 18, this was her Olympic debut.

Gu has to keep training. She’s a very rare triple threat competing in all three of the Olympic freeskiing disciplines: slopestyle, big air, and halfpipe.

Halfpipe, the last stop on her Olympic tour, is scheduled to start on Thursday with a qualifying event. The finals are scheduled for Saturday and could deliver Gu’s sixth Olympic medal in a row.

Maybe it’ll be gold.