Eileen Gu insists she’s ‘Eileen from maths class’ despite Laureus Awards triumph alongside Messi, Fraser-Pryce
- The freestyle skier says she is trying to stay grounded as she balances sport and fashion with studying quantum physics at Stanford
- China’s star of the Beijing Winter Olympics says it’s ‘funny’ to be honoured alongside Lionel Messi and she spent the flight to Paris doing homework
Not that this is an unusual occurrence for the 19-year-old, who has been balancing myriad commitments since winning two golds and a silver at last year’s Beijing Winter Olympics.
Gu describes her involvement in fashion and sport, while studying quantum physics at Stanford, as like having three careers, all of which she appears to be excelling at. Yet she this week called herself “a small fish in a big pond” after being named Laureus’ world action sportsperson of the year.
“I have always felt like I’m constantly surrounded by people who are so much better than me,” Gu said. “Growing up in skiing, I was generally one of the youngest in my generation in skiing.
“So, I was always looking up to people around me. Now, with fashion things, there are so many fashion greats that I get to see, like, ‘oh my God, you’re right in front of me, you’re real’.”
In Paris on Monday, Gu was honoured alongside Lionel Messi, the greatest footballer of his generation, and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, one of the best female sprinters of all time.
