Eileen Gu claimed Winter Olympic silver in the women's ski slopestyle competition on Tuesday.- She finished just 0.33 points behind the winner, and after said she was "tired mentally."
Eileen Gu said she was "a little bit tired mentally" after missing out on a second gold medal at the Beijing
The American-born Chinese star, who won gold in the women's freestyle skiing Big Air competition last week, claimed silver in the women's ski slopestyle competition on Tuesday, finishing just 0.33 points behind Switzerland's Mathilde Gremaud.
On a bitterly cold day at Genting Snow Park, Gu found herself in eighth place after slipping on her second run.
However, as she did when she won gold, the teenager delivered under the pressure of the final run, laying down a score of 86.23.
"I think I was feeling a little bit tired mentally after big air," Gu said after the event. "In my first and second run I wasn't fully in it. I wasn't in the zone, I wasn't feeling that rush, that excitement. I felt almost too calm, which sometimes doesn't work out the best.
"I'm one of those people that kind of needs to have the pressure on and I was happy that I was able to put it down."
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Gu remains on track to become the first action-sports athlete to win three medals at a single Winter Olympics.
She is the favourite to win the halfpipe competition, which starts with qualifying on Thursday, having claimed gold in the discipline at the world championships in Aspen last year.
"The trifecta has always been my biggest goal," she said on Tuesday. "It's definitely lofty, but I know it's something I can do."
Gu's mental fatigue is understandable given both her hectic schedule in Beijing and the fact she has found herself and her status as a US-born athlete competing for China in the spotlight at the games.
The 18-year-old was born in San Francisco and spent most of her life representing the United States, but in 2019, switched to compete for China, the birth country of her mother.
While China has welcomed her with open arms and sought to use her decision to compete for the country as a point of pride, some in the US have been highly critical of her choice, with some pundits accusing her of betraying the US with her decision.
Gu has also been regularly quizzed about her citizenship by reporters.
China does not recognize dual nationality and it has previously been reported by one of Gu's sponsors that she revoked her American passport to compete for China.
Asked about her citizenship following her gold medal win last week, Gu 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."