Eileen Gu '17
Eileen Gu '17 was the 2023 Distinguished Alumna Award Recipient.
Eileen is an exceptional talent in the world of freestyle skiing and a trailblazer for aspiring athletes. She is a six-time Olympic medalist, two-time ESPY Award-winner, and model. With a dual American and Chinese heritage, she has bridged cultures and broken barriers through her performances on the slopes and beyond.
Eileen is an exceptional talent in the world of freestyle skiing and a trailblazer for aspiring athletes. She is a six-time Olympic medalist, two-time ESPY Award-winner, and model. With a dual American and Chinese heritage, she has bridged cultures and broken barriers through her performances on the slopes and beyond.
At the age of eight, Eileen quickly developed a passion for freestyle skiing. While studying at Burke’s, Eileen won nine USASA age division and open class national contests in Colorado between April 2013 and April 2018. She rose to prominence on the international stage in the 2020-2021 season when she claimed her first World Cup victory in a halfpipe event in Calgary, Canada. Her meteoric success continued as she dominated the freestyle skiing circuit, accumulating several World Cup titles and a golden medal at the 2021 FIS Freestyle Ski World Championships in Aspen, Colorado.
Eileen’s groundbreaking performances at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing won her two gold medals and one silver—marking the first time a freestyle skier won three medals at a single Winter Olympics. She has found success in all three of the major freeskiing disciplines—halfpipe, slopestyle, and big air—a rare feat in modern skiing where athletes typically specialize in the events where they perform best. Eileen is the youngest Olympic champion in freestyle skiing, and in 2024, Sportico named her as the second-highest-paid female athlete that year, with $22 million in earnings.
Apart from her athletic achievements, Eileen is an outspoken advocate for cultural exchange and understanding. With a modeling career that has seen her grace the covers of prestigious magazines, she has become a symbol of diversity and breaking barriers. In May 2025, she made her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue debut.
Most recently at the 2026 Winter Olympics, Eileen won gold in women's halfpipe and silver in both big air and slopestyle, setting the Olympic medal record in freestyle skiing. She is a recent graduate of Stanford University.
Q&A from Burke's Magazine, Spring 2020.
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Q&A from Burke's Magazine, Spring 2020.
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What is your favorite memory from Burke’s?
There really are a lot, but the first one that comes to mind is the eighth-grade play. We worked so relentlessly on everything from the set and props to costumes and makeup, to our own acting and choreography, that the finished product felt so rewarding. Seeing everyone work together with a chemistry that only nine years together can create was magical. Our play was Mary Poppins. I was Mary, one of my best friends was Bert, and we really outdid ourselves that night.
How would you encourage Burke’s students and alumnae to give back to Burke’s?
I would encourage them to stay connected. I believe that while funding and other resources can be powerful, time and knowledge are ultimately much more valuable. Going back and speaking at an assembly, giving advice to a new student, or simply staying caught up with the KayDeeBee [now Burke’s Magazine!] are all great ways to keep in touch with our roots.
What Burke’s experiences do you attribute to your personal or professional success?
When I was nine years old, I was the only girl on my ski team. But having been told time and time again that everyone deserves equality and a fair chance, I entered unafraid, made some of my best friends, and ultimately became a professional athlete. In seventh grade, I gave my speech on gender equality in sports, which was later used as the voiceover for the new Adidas Women’s golf commercial. Burke’s taught me to never give up, to remain confident in my own abilities, and to make the change I wanted to see in the world.
If you had to do it all over again, your time at Burke’s and since, what might you do differently?
I would slow down and take it all in. Just like many seventh and eighth graders, my mind was on high school. Those last two years are the culmination of everything we’ve been through together, and they deserve to be cherished as much or more than the years before it. While things can get hectic, staying present is key.
What three words or phrases come to mind when you hear “Katherine Delmar Burke School”?
Continued community, joyful learning, and courageous confidence.
After Burke’s, I continued to stay in touch with my classmates, many of whom I call my best friends to this day. The term “community” is used frequently at Burke’s; the idea of a school unified through some type of sisterhood is not new. However, it really is the long-lasting connection and trust that only nine years together can build that truly resonates with me.
After Burke’s, I continued to stay in touch with my classmates, many of whom I call my best friends to this day. The term “community” is used frequently at Burke’s; the idea of a school unified through some type of sisterhood is not new. However, it really is the long-lasting connection and trust that only nine years together can build that truly resonates with me.
At the time, I really did take Burke’s teachers for granted. I assumed all teachers would be as passionate, educated, and motivated as the teachers that I had at Burke’s. The true desire that teachers had to better educate both Burke’s girls and themselves impresses me to this day. Burke’s upholds consistent standards from the first day of kindergarten to the last day of eighth grade. Those years are truly transformational, and ones in which lifelong imprints can be made. From handmade cartoons displayed in the lunchroom to in-depth discussions in the classroom, students will always be armed with strong morals and a multi-faceted understanding of themselves and the world around them.
What would you tell incoming kindergarten families about the journey ahead?
I would remind them that while nine years seems like a long time, it passes in a breeze. I hope that they can remember to stay present and ensure their kids have the best chance to enjoy it while it lasts.
Burke's mission is to educate, encourage and empower girls. Our school combines academic excellence with an appreciation for childhood so that students thrive as learners, develop a strong sense of self, contribute to community, and fulfill their potential, now and throughout life.
Burke's admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.