Will Eileen Gu superstardom create a sustainable boom in China’s ski industry?

Experts say Gu is one of the rare stars who can grow a sport through her fan base

The Winter Olympics had already acted as a catalyst for skiing in China, with the number of skiers doubling since 2015, when Beijing won the bid

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Eileen Gu is the biggest star in Chinese winter sports, but can she help grow the country’s ski industry? Photo: Handout

Published: 6:30pm, 15 Feb 2022Updated: 5:20pm, 18 Apr 2022

When Eileen Gu landed a stunning double cork 1620 to win the gold medal in the women’s big air skiing competition for China at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, the reaction in China was so jubilant that people crashed Weibo when they rushed to celebrate online.

The social media platform was inundated with people searching her name to praise and congratulate the champion. Never has a professional skier ever scaled such heights of stardom in China.

The poster child – a world champion, fashion model and incoming Stanford first-year – has brought unprecedented popularity and pride to skiing sports in China.

Now the question is, will her stardom translate to long-term fans of competitive skiing after the Olympics? Furthermore, will it translate to lasting growth in the ski industry in China?

Gu has become the face of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics in China. Photo: Reuters

According to The Economist, Gu said that just a few years ago she knew almost all freestyle skiers in China, but that has changed as the sport gathers momentum.

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