Laura Woods defends Eileen Gu after journalist brands skier ‘arrogant’
Presenter Laura Woods has defended freestyle skier Eileen Gu after the multiple Olympic champion was criticised for her reaction to a reporter’s question.
Record-breaking games
Gu claimed three medals at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina to cement her status as the most decorated female freeski athlete in history.
The 22-year-old secured gold in the halfpipe alongside silver medals in slopestyle and big air, taking her career tally to six Olympic podium finishes.
However, a post-event interview went viral after the American-born Chinese athlete was asked if she viewed her two second-place finishes as gold medals “lost”.
‘Ridiculous perspective’
The freeskier rejected the premise of the question, highlighting the difficulty of maintaining such a high level of performance across multiple games.
“I’m the most decorated female freeskier in history. I think that’s an answer in and of itself,” Gu said.
“Winning a medal at the Olympics is a life-changing experience for every athlete. Doing it five times is exponentially harder because every medal is equally hard for me, but everybody else’s expectations rise.”
“The two medals lost situation, to be quite frank with you, I think is kind of a ridiculous perspective to take. I’m showcasing my best skiing.”
Reaction and criticism
The response drew sharp criticism from American journalist Megan Basham, who described the skier as “awful” and accused her of “off the chart levels of arrogance”.
“I don’t care how many medals she has, there is nothing about her I would encourage my daughters to emulate,” Basham wrote on social media.
Basham also referenced the athlete’s decision to represent China, claiming she had betrayed her country of birth.
Popular sports presenter Woods hit back at the comments, describing the criticism levelled at the freeskier as a “baffling take”.
Gu, who was born in San Francisco, has faced intense scrutiny regarding her nationality since switching allegiance to China in 2019.