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Olympic ski champion Eileen Gu to tackle Paris 2024 public marathon, adding another challenge to her athletics feats

In the year of a Summer Olympics, we don’t often hear from the stars of a Winter Games.

Yet People’s Republic of China freestyle ski champion Eileen Gu has other plans.

The two-time gold medallist has revealed that she’ll be taking part in the public marathon at Paris 2024 on Saturday, 10 August.

Gu captured the hearts of Chinese fans when she won gold in big air and halfpipe, as well as bronze in slopestyle at Beijing 2022, becoming the youngest gold medallist in freestyle skiing.

Eileen Gu is a model pro

Alongside freestyle skiing, Gu is known for her modelling career, which has seen her front the cover of several publications including Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, and Vogue.

Gu was also an Olympic torchbearer ahead of Paris 2024 as she helped carry the Olympic Torch through Loire Atlantique.

And soon, she’ll be able to add Olympic marathon runner to her long list of accomplishments.

“I have a little secret to share with you,” she told the media earlier this week as she watched Chinese duo Quan Hongchan and Chen Yuxi take gold in the women’s synchronised 10m platform event.

“I will be running a marathon in Paris. It is part of the Olympics marathon, but for the public. It will be my first marathon.”

The three-time Olympic medallist, who switched from representing the USA to China in 2019, went on to reveal that she has only had around three weeks of training so far compared to the recommended 16 weeks for a marathon.

Following in the footsteps of Olympic athletes

For the first time ever, a public marathon, otherwise known as the Mass Participation Marathon, will follow the same route as the official Paris 2024 Olympic marathon, allowing members of the public to push their limits and follow in the footsteps of Olympic athletes.

With 20,024 people set to take part, the marathon will begin at the Hôtel de Ville at 9 p.m. and finish on the Esplanade des Invalides, passing through Paris, Boulogne-Billancourt, Sèvres, Ville d’Avray, Versailles, Viroflay, Chaville, Meudon and Issy-les-Moulineaux.

Eileen Gu, Freestyle Skiing Gold Medalist, Runs 1:41:07 in San Francisco Half Marathon

Gu placed second in her age group on July 24 after “spontaneously” signing up for the race.

At only 18 years old, Eileen Gu is a two-time Olympic gold medalist, model, and soon-to-be Stanford freshman. She is fluent in English and Mandarin Chinese and can play classical piano, too. With so many varied accolades and talents, one may wonder: Is there anything Gu can’t do?

As if seemingly responding to this unspoken question, Gu recently added another achievement to her already lengthy list.

On Sunday July 24, Gu completed the San Francisco Half Marathon—and placed second in her age group. This happened several days after she won two ESPY Awards: Best Breakthrough Athlete and Best Athlete, Women’s Action Sports.

Without formally training for the 13.1-mile race, Gu crossed the finish line in ç, an impressive 7:43 mile pace.

In an Instagram post she wrote, “Landed in San Francisco 36 hrs ago and spontaneously signed up for the San Francisco half marathon. Went in with the relatively simple goal of finishing the race but got a bit competitive around mile 7 & 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.”

Although racing in San Fran was an impromptu decision, Gu has history with the sport. She was a competitive cross country runner for seven years and has expressed admiration and gratitude for her former coach.

In an Instagram post celebrating International Women’s Day in 2021, after thanking her grandma and mother, Gu wrote, “…to my unbelievably strong high school cross country coach (who showed me focus and fearlessness).”

Over the years, Gu has also posted on Instagram about her cross country meets and running workouts. 

Running is an integral component of her training routine; she even credits it for helping her get ready for her Olympic debut where she represented China. Gu is American-born – her mother is Chinese, and her father is American – but has competed for China since 2019.

“It’s definitely not easy. But I ran a half-marathon every week over the summer to prepare,” she said in an interview before Beijing. “I feel proud of the work I’ve done to build up my endurance base, so this is what I’ve been preparing for.”

Gu’s former training camp coach, Peter Olenick, told the New York Post, "She is the first one at training and the last to leave. She competes in multiple events; then she goes home to run and train. That is unusual."

Her unconventional tactics worked. Gu snagged Olympic gold medals in big air and halfpipe and a silver medal in slopestyle. She became the youngest freestyle skiing Olympic champion and the first freestyle skier to medal three times in a single Winter game appearance.

All of this came on the heels of winning numerous gold medals at the 2021 World Championships and Winter X Games as well as two gold medals at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics – in big air and halfpipe.

Despite her success on the slopes, Gu said that running is her second favorite sport.

"I can break my own boundaries through running. Running is a bit different from skiing, because running can be done by everyone. There is no need to fall and stand up again. Everyone can enjoy the joy of sports and nature."