Eileen Gu makes impromptu decision to run San Francisco half marathon, finishes 2nd
- Double Olympic champion ‘spontaneously’ signs up 36 hours before event, finishing as runner-up in the women’s 19-and-under category
- Gu says she is ‘hyped’ to walk away with ‘unexpected’ result after going in with goal of simply finishing the race
Is there anything Eileen Gu can’t do?
Not content with winning two gold medals and one silver for China at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, the freestyle skier turned her talent to long distance running last weekend.
California-born Gu decided, on a whim, to take part in the half marathon race in her hometown San Francisco Marathon.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given her natural athletic ability, the 18-year-old ended up on the podium with a runner-up medal.
Gu finished second in the 19-and-under age category at the 45th annual edition of the event, with a time of 1 hour, 41 minutes and 7 seconds.
What made her achievement even more remarkable was that she had not specifically prepared for the race, and only decided to sign up a day and a half before it got under way.
“Went in with the relatively simple goal of finishing the race but got a bit competitive around mile 7 and wanted to see what I could make happen.
“Hyped to walk away with an unexpected second place in the 19 and under age group!! Still on a high. What a day.”
Chinese-American Gu was born and raised in San Francisco, but opted to compete for her mother’s birth country at Beijing 2022, where she won gold in the big air and half-pipe events, and a silver in slopestyle.
Her achievements helped her become a celebrity sensation in both the US and China, with the part-time model now having 1.6 million Instagram followers.
