Chloe Kim says Eileen Gu is 'an inspiration to young girls' after the Chinese skier's Olympic breakout

• Chloe Kim and Eileen Gu both won gold medals at the Beijing Olympics this winter.
• The Team USA snowboarder said she has "nothing but pride" for the American-born Chinese skier, who competed for the host country.

Chloe Kim knows what it takes to win Olympic gold; the 22-year-old American snowboarder has now done it at back-to-back Games.

So when it comes to Eileen Gu, the American-born Chinese skier who looks poised for similar success and superstardom, Kim says she has "nothing but pride."

"Eileen is amazing," Kim told Insider. "I've known her for a few years now, and she's such a hard worker."

"[She's] such an inspiration to young girls around the world," Kim added.

Gu, who competes for China, won two golds and a silver medal in front of her home crowd in Beijing this winter. At just 18 years old, she became the first freestyle skier to win three medals at a single winter Olympics.

Kim has achieved several firsts over the course of her own career, too. And in Beijing, she became the first woman snowboarder to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals on the halfpipe.

Gu was watching slopeside to cheer on her friend — whom she's long known from traveling in similar elite snow sport circles back in California — as Kim achieved the incredible feat back in February.

"I'm so proud of her, and everything she's accomplished," Kim said. "I wish her nothing but the best... I'm her number one fan. So I'm excited for her.

"And I hope to see her soon, because that girl is always busy and so hard to get a hold of," she added with a chuckle.

Not only is Gu one of the most accomplished freestyle skiers on the planet, but she's also a model who has appeared on the covers of several high-profile magazines and represented brands like Fendi, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton.

Additionally, Gu is a high-achieving student. Much was made of her near-perfect SAT score during the Olympic Games, which was good enough to gain admission to Stanford starting this fall.

It's no wonder she's tough to pin down, which isn't an unfamiliar concept to someone similarly successful like Kim. The snowboarder also made her way to an elite university, albeit on the opposite coast of the United States, after her first Olympic appearance.

But when Kim — who completed her first year at Princeton in 2020 — was asked if she has any words of wisdom for Gu as she heads to college, she opted to let the young star chart her own path.

"I don't think I would give her advice honestly," Kim said. "Just go out there and have fun."