Chinese freestyle skiing star Gu Ailing (American name Eileen Gu) has been named one of 26 international stars to watch at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics.
U.S. sports media outlet The Athletic introduced 26 global stars to watch at this year's Winter Olympics on Saturday.
The international stars were selected from the perspective of a U.S. media outlet, focusing on foreign athletes—excluding American competitors—who are either highly popular or challenging for meaningful records.
No Korean athletes were among the 26, while three Asian athletes made the list: Gu Ailing, figure skating men's singles competitor Yuma Kagiyama of Japan, and speed skater Miho Takagi of Japan.
Gu Ailing is a freestyle skier who won two gold medals at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
At this year's Games, she will attempt to win three gold medals in freestyle skiing big air, halfpipe, and slopestyle events.
Kagiyama, who won silver in men's singles figure skating at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, is considered the athlete most likely to challenge strong gold medal favorite Ilia Malinin of the United States at this competition.
Takagi, competing in speed skating events, has won two gold medals, four silver medals, and one bronze medal across previous Olympics, including gold in team pursuit at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics and women's 1000m at the 2022 Beijing Games.
She is also considered a medal contender in the 1500m at this year's competition.
The 26-person list also includes alpine skier Federica Brignone of Italy, the Canadian ice hockey national team, and Italian curling representative Stefania Constantini, who led her team to an undefeated 11-0 championship run at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
