More than sporting excellence and closets stuffed full of medals, skiing legends Lindsey Vonn and Eileen Gu have something in common: perseverance in the face of failure.
While Gu – who became the youngest Olympic champion in freestyle skiing at the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022 at 18 – is known for her successes, they weren’t always guaranteed.
Gu, who competes for China, became the first woman to land a double cork 1440, and in the moment leading up to the trick, she admits she had to be OK with the idea of not being successful in her attempt.
“In this moment, if I (saw) that I’m free to try, it’s going to be a story and a legacy in and of itself regardless of if I land,” Gu said speaking to CNN Sports at the recent Laureus World Sports Awards in Madrid.
“If I didn’t land, I would be equally proud of myself for trying because what often holds women, particularly young women, back is the fear of trying – and that’s what happens when girls drop out of sports precipitously from age 11 to 14.
“Really the story that I wanted to tell was: go out there, do your very best, and if you landed, awesome, but if you don’t, still be proud of yourself,” she added.
Now 21, Gu has her sights on her second Winter Olympics when the Games come to Milan-Cortina in 2026. Also hoping to compete is American skier Lindsey Vonn, who earlier this year came out of retirement and concluded her comeback season with a second-place finish in a World Cup super-G race.
“A lot of women and girls are afraid to try because of the fear of failure, and I’ve fallen a million times and I’ve always gotten back up, so I’m not afraid to fail at anything,” Vonn said.
It is this defiance in the face of potential failure which is key to Vonn’s success. The American star came second in the super-G at the World Cup finals in March to become the oldest female Alpine skier to make the podium of a World Cup race by six years.
She retired from the sport in February 2019 but announced last year she would be returning to the slopes after undergoing a successful partial knee replacement in April 2024.
Vonn acknowledged that there are factors that some consider detrimental to her ability to win.
“Is my age a factor? Yeah. (Are) my, are my injuries a factor? Yes, but … you’ve got to do what you love, and if I fail, so be it, but I always believed in myself, and it’s gotten me this far,” Vonn told CNN.
“A lot of people say as they get older, the fear increases – that’s your mind. Do what you set your mind to. If you believe you can’t do it, then of course.”
Vonn has already expressed her desire to conclude this chapter of her career at the Winter Games. She already has a record 12 World Cup wins at Cortina d’Ampezzo.
She told the Associated Press that she was “definitely am thinking about (the Olympics) and I hope that I can get there.”
“I have to keep things going and if I can make it, it would be a thrilling and a great way to kind of close the loop on my career – I guess the second chapter of my career. But I’m really trying not to think that far ahead,” she told AP.
Vonn has plenty of supporters who think she has a shot at medaling again.
“I’m pretty sure Lindsey can win at least one medal,” three-time Olympic champion Maria Höfl-Riesch told CNN Sports.
”I mean she could do it in both events, of course. I think it depends on if it’s working in the first one, then maybe the second one is coming easier.”
Vonn said she was hopeful for herself and Gu when it came to bagging medals.
“I would say you (Eileen) got three last Olympics. My best was two and I have three potential events. So I think, on average, we should hopefully come away with three or four. I think four would be a pretty solid bet,” Vonn said.
For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
