Eileen Gu Slams Olympic Schedulers for Forcing Her to Miss Practice, Says She 'Should Not Be Penalized'

Gu said she's "asked for fair options" to add practice time "to no avail"

NEED TO KNOW

• Skier Eileen Gu slammed the International Ski and Snowboard Federation after her request for additional practice time was denied
• Gu, who is the only athlete competing in slopestyle, halfpipe and big air, said she “asked for fair options” to give her practice time “to no avail”
• Gu called the overlap “a totally avoidable issue” and said she’s “saddened by the hardline stance FIS has chosen to take”

Skier Eileen Gu called out the Olympics for a "totally avoidable issue" regarding scheduling.

The 22-year-old representing Team China — who is the only athlete competing in slopestyle, halfpipe and big air — penned a lengthy post on Sunday, Feb. 15 after she qualified for the upcoming big air final at the 2026 Winter Olympics, telling fans she will be forced to miss "an entire day of pipe training" after the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) denied her request for additional practice time.

"Unfortunately, @fisparkandpipe has scheduled big air finals and pipe training with 100% overlap, which means I’ll now be missing an entire day of pipe training," Gu wrote. "I have asked for fair options like joining one training with the snowboarders, or getting even one hour alone to train, but to no avail."

Gu continued, "No other woman in the halfpipe field is competing in another event, and for good reason – Halfpipe is different from slope and big air, and demands its own training time accordingly."

The women's freeski big air final begins at 7:30 p.m. local time in Livigno, Italy on Monday. The women's freeski halfpipe qualification round begins on Friday.

The two-time gold medalist called the Olympics "the stage upon which miracles materialize and the impossible ceases to be so right before our very eyes," in the post, adding that the Games "inspire both athletes and sports lovers to dream big and break limits."

Then, she said the FIS' decision not to grant her additional practice time is "disappointing to me because it seems to contradict the spirit of the games."

"Daring to be the only woman to compete in three events should not be penalized – making finals in one event should not disadvantage me in another," Gu wrote, posing the question, "What kind of message does this send to future athletes who love skiing for its essence and want to compete in every event?"

Gu called the overlap "a totally avoidable issue" and said she's "saddened by the hardline stance FIS has chosen to take."

Gu concluded her post telling fans she's "proud of" herself "for being willing to give big air my best shot," and said she's "looking forward to competing tomorrow night under the lights with this incredible field of women."

FIS representative Bruno Sassi told PEOPLE on Feb. 16, "Constructing the Olympic competition program is a complex process requiring extensive cooperation between the IOC and the International Federations representing the thousands of athletes at these Games."

Sassi added, "Every effort has been made to facilitate the best possible training and competition schedule for athletes across the myriad FIS-governed events, but as we have already seen at these Games, for athletes who choose to compete in multiple disciplines and/or multiple events, conflicts can sometimes be inevitable."

After qualifying for the final, Gu told reporters she thinks the scheduling conflict is "really unfair" and "punishing excellence," according to NBC, and added, “I think the Olympics should epitomize aspiration, and I think being able to do something that’s beyond the ordinary should be celebrated instead of punished.”

To learn more about all the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, come to people.com to check out ongoing coverage before, during and after the games. Watch the Milan Cortina Olympics and Paralympics, beginning Feb. 6, on NBC and Peacock.

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