First, the genius of ice and snow sports
In 2003, the year of SARS in China, the United States was still a country that Chinese flocked to. Gu Yan, a Chinese student, had an exotic relationship with an American high-achieving student at Stanford University, and the love of the two was born in San Francisco, USA.
Gu Ailing and mother
Since the age of 3, Gu Ailing and his mother began to contact skiing, or the doll of Gu Ailing is like a spirit in the ice and snow world, quickly able to slide smoothly, and often create new ways for themselves, thinking of a lot of actions. A person can also have fun and not feel lonely at all bored. "At that time, as soon as I fell, I found that the snow next to me was higher than mine, and I didn't have time to be afraid and continued to slide." Gu Ailing recalled. Sometimes when she was tired of practicing, she fell asleep by the snow - the snow was too thick, and she couldn't find the child for a while and a half, which frightened her mother Gu Yan several times.
Her mother sent her to a ski training class to practice her skiing skills more systematically. In the training class, Gu Ailing was always the one who learned the fastest, and when other children were still stumbling, she had already flexibly demonstrated the movements taught by the teacher.
After the teacher discovered her amazing learning ability, he also specially taught her more difficult movements, set up some obstacles for her to practice, and Gu Ailing could quickly master it.
By chance, a professional ski instructor discovered Gu Ailing's talent after watching her skiing moves, so he put forward his opinion to Gu Ailing's mother and suggested that she receive professional training and join the ski team. So at the age of 8, Gu Ailing joined the professional ski team in the Lake Tahoe area and became the only female member of the team. Because she was afraid of being injured in racing skiing, Gu Ling chose relatively safe freestyle skiing for her daughter. "I was the only girl [on the team], so I didn't dare talk to people, but by skiing we were able to communicate and encourage each other. Whenever someone makes a move, I think I have to try it too. ”
At the same time as hard training, Gu Ailing began to participate in the Ski Race in the United States, and at the age of 9, she won the championship of the American Ski Junior Group in this year. Since then, Gu Ailing has represented the United States in many ski events and won many national championships.
Every weekend, her family drove her for hours to train, rain or shine, and the rhythm continued until she was 15 years old.
Second, China's love affair
Gu Ailing often returned to Beijing with her mother for a vacation since she was a child, gu Yan attaches special importance to gu Ailing's Chinese and traditional Chinese culture education, so Gu Ailing, who has been wandering in Beijing hutongs since childhood, is not only fluent in Chinese, but also quite authentic, and she also calls herself a Beijing girl who grew up in the hutongs.
Gu Ailing is in Beijing
On social media, she often communicates with netizens in mandarin, and even when she trains overseas, she does not forget to promote traditional Chinese cuisine. "When the Winter Olympics happened to be celebrating the Spring Festival, we should make some dumplings and share our traditional culture so that people around the world can taste Chinese food." Gu Ailing also posted a video on social media making dumplings with her grandmother.
Gu Ailing said that he is a "carnivore", "My favorite is the Peking duck, and recently I have eaten more braised pork and ribs." ”
Carnivore Gu Ailing
Gu Ailing tastes Peking duck
On June 6, 2019, 15-year-old Gu Ailing announced through personal social media that he had officially changed his chinese nationality and posted "Chinese freestyle skier Gu Ailing registered". According to the official website of the International Snow Federation (FIS), in June 2019, Gu Ailing's registered nationality in FIS has been changed from the United States to China.
Gu Ailing's personal social media announced naturalization
3. Honors obtained on behalf of China after naturalization
Gu Ailing, who has fulfilled the "Chinese Dream", has not slackened off at all, and in the three months since she joined the Chinese nationality, she has won 3 gold medals, and the history of Chinese skiing has drawn a strong stroke.
On August 16, 2019, he won the 2019-20 Freestyle Ski Slope Obstacle Course New Zealand Open, and on August 28, he won the 2019 New Zealand Winter Games and Australian Cup Freestyle Ski U-Track Competition.
At the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne, Gu Ailing won two gold medals and one silver medal.
In January 2020, she won the 2020 Lausanne Winter Youth Olympic Games Ski U-Pool, Freestyle Ski Jump Championship, freestyle ski women's slope obstacle course champion; in February, won the 2019-20 World Cup Calgary, Canada U-shaped field champion, slope steeplechase champion; on April 16, won the International Snow Federation 2019/2020 season "Best Moment" award.
At the 2021 Freestyle Ski World Championships and the 2021 Freestyle Ski World Championships Grand Jump Final, China's Gu Ailing won the third place with a score of 161.50 points with the outstanding performance of the last two rounds. For the first time in the World Championships, she won 2 gold and 1 bronze in the women's U-shaped field, slope obstacle course and big jumping; on March 22, the final of the U-shaped pool of the Freestyle Skiing World Cup Aspen Station ended, and Gu Ailing withdrew due to a shoulder injury to end the season's competition; on December 18, the 2021 Dew Tour Freestyle Skiing Women's Slope Obstacle Course Final, China's Gu Ailing finished second with 89 points. In December 2021, he won the honor of China's Top Ten Athletes in 2021. On December 31, 2021, he won the 2021/2022 FIS Freestyle Ski U-Track World Cup in Calgary, Canada.
For Gu Ailing, the most important thing to do after joining the Chinese nationality is to participate in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics as a Chinese skier. The addition of Gu Ailing also makes up for the lack of top athletes in China's free ski sports, which makes us Chinese have another point of confidence at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
List of achievements after Gu Ailing was naturalized in China
Fourth, an example of patriotic education
Gu Ailing, who was in the ascendancy of her career, gave up her American citizenship and became a Chinese athlete, which also made waves on the Internet. Netizens have compared Gu Ailing with foreign Chinese in the show business circle and praised Gu Ailing's patriotic feelings.
Gu Ailing once said that when she learned that China will vigorously popularize mass ice and snow sports, determined to enhance the strength of China's ice and snow sports by hosting the Beijing Winter Olympics and The Winter Paralympic Games, and proposed to "drive 300 million people to participate in ice and snow sports" and promote the construction of a sports power, she felt a sense of national identity began to run in her heart, and she has a deep affection for China since she was a child, and she warmly envisions being able to make a little effort for her hometown.
Fifth, the Almighty Girl
Currently, Gu Ailing defines herself as "student, skier and fashion model".
1. Xueba.
Even if she had to participate in national or world-class competitions, she did not miss the course because of training. Amazingly, Gu Ailing, because he wanted more time to train, completed the fourth year of high school in three years. With a high score of 1580 (SAT score of 1600), he passed the U.S. college entrance examination and ranked in the top 0.4% of all American high school students, and successfully entered Stanford University.
2. Fashion model.
Since the age of 15, Gu Ailing has worked part-time as a model in addition to training, and has also performed well at Paris Fashion Week. With a tall figure of 1.7 meters, a delicate mixed-race face, and a sunny temperament brought to her by her athlete career, Gu Ailing has become the darling of the fashion circle.
The famous agency IMG recruited her to become the "sister" of giselle Bündchen, Cuckoo and other supermodels; in addition to appearing on the cover of famous magazines such as Vogue, ELLE and Harper's Bazaar, she was also invited to attend fashion shows such as Met Gala. Every summer when she trains in Europe, she sneaks between Paris and Milan, feeling the stylish atmosphere.
The fashion circle makes the outside world look like a drunken fan, but Gu Ailing soberly said that this has promoted his training. "Fashion can help me balance the pressure of training, and being a model, like freestyle skiing, requires creativity, confidence, and the ability to learn to adapt." She said. Strength, health and self-confidence are the mottos that Gu Ailing has been pursuing.
In addition to skiing, Gu Ailing has many hobbies, basketball, long-distance running, rock climbing, horseback riding, these sports are not a problem for her, it is no exaggeration to call her an all-round girl.