Olympic freestyle skier Eileen Gu is ready to impress her grandmother, who has never seen the teen compete, in the upcoming halfpipe competition.
The 18-year-old describes her grandmother, who played basketball during her college years, as a “fiercely confident” woman who is “happy all the time,” reported Reuters.
Gu also told reporters, “She’s never watched me compete. I don’t think she’s ever watched me ski. She’s going to be unfazed and unimpressed I think.”
Although the young athlete has managed to pull an impressive record with her performances at the Beijing Olympics so far, Gu says that her grandmother would still prefer that she become a lawyer or doctor.
“She said, ‘You’re just doing it for fun. You can go be a doctor or lawyer later,’” Gu said.
According to CNN, Gu’s grandmother flew into Beijing on Tuesday to watch the 18-year-old compete for the first time.
Gu has so far won a silver medal in the women’s slopestyle competition and a gold medal in the women’s big air competition, which now puts her on a path to potentially become the first action-sports athlete to win three medals at the same Winter Olympics game.
