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Eileen Gu casually enjoyed a sandwich while waiting for her slopestyle score before rushing off to practice for another event

Barnaby Lane   

Eileen Gu casually enjoyed a sandwich while waiting for her slopestyle score before rushing off to practice for another event
  • Skier Eileen Gu is juggling multiple events at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
  • So after qualifying for the slopestyle final, she enjoyed a quick lunch before rushing to halfpipe practice.

Eileen Gu enjoyed a sandwich while awaiting her score in the freeski slopestyle qualifying at the Beijing Winter Olympics before heading straight off to practice for another event.

Gu, who literally broke part of the internet after winning gold in the women's Big Air competition last week, is chasing another two medals in the women's slopestyle and halfpipe events, with the latter competition beginning on Thursday.

On Monday, the 18-year-old qualified for Tuesday's slopestyle final with a score of 79.38, finishing third overall.

She celebrated her scores being read out with both a smile and a snack. Insider was unable to immediately verify what was inside the burger-like delicacy.

Explaining why she was eating while awaiting her score, Gu explained that she had to go straight from the event to halfpipe practice.

"I have pipe practice right now, I'm actually missing it, so a quick lunch!" she said.

The Olympics shared a photo of Gu enjoying the burger to its official Instagram page, saying: "Snacking at the end of your run is champion-like behavior."

Gu commented on the post: "Girl's gotta eat."

A post shared by The Olympic Games (@olympics)

Gu, who was born born in San Francisco to an American father and a Chinese mother, stopped representing the United States and began competing for China in 2019.

Her decision to represent China has been a hot topic in Beijing, with the teenager skirting round questions from reporters about her citizenship.

China does not recognize dual citizenship and it has previously been reported by one of her sponsors, Red Bull, that she forfeited her American passport so she could compete for China.

After winning gold in the big air competition, she was asked by a reporter if she is "still a US citizen."

She replied: "I've always been super outspoken in my gratitude to the US and to the US team as well. They have been nothing nut supportive to me, and for that I am forever grateful.

"And same to the Chinese team. They have been so, so supportive of me. And so in that sense, I feel like sport is really a way in that we can unite people, it doesn't have to be something that's related to nationality, it's not something that can be used to divide people."

Pressed again by another reporter about her citizenship, she said: "I definitely feel just as American as I am Chinese. I'm American when I am in the US and I'm Chinese when I'm in China.

"I've been very outspoken about my gratitude to both the US and China for making me the person who I am.

Gu is not the first snowboarder to be seen on camera having a post-run snack at the Winter Olympics this year. Last week Jenise Spiteri, a US-born snowboarder representing Malta, was pictured eating a dumpling as she waited for her scores to come through during the halfpipe competition.

As Insider's Meredith Cash previously reported, the 29-year-old explained to USA Today's Lori Nickel that she struggled to eat breakfast ahead of her Olympic debut.

Spiteri described the dumplings as her "favorite food that we have in the village," and said she shoved two into her jacket prior to her run.

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