Aileen Gu won the gold medal in the halfpipe event, making her the most decorated Olympian in freestyle skiing history, and then learned the heartbreaking news of her grandmother's death, BTA reported.
The Chinese woman broke down in tears at a post-race press conference in Livigno as she described how her grandmother, Guozheng Feng, inspired her.
„Many people just drift through life, but she was like a steamboat. This woman was in charge of life, took control of it and made it what she wanted it to be,” Gu, 22, said, quoted by Reuters.
American-born Gu chose to represent her mother and grandmother’s homeland, China, at the Olympics.
The Chinese woman has increased her medal count from two Olympics to six. She said she and her grandmother had discussed her participation in the Milan-Cortina Games.
“I didn’t promise her that I would win, but I promised her that I would be brave, like she was brave. And that’s why I keep bringing this up because I have to be brave and take risks. It actually goes back to the promise I made to my grandmother. I’m really happy that I was able to keep it and I hope to make her proud, but it’s also a really difficult time for me,“ Gu concluded.