Why Eileen Gu Won't Compete at the Next World Cup Stop

On December 28, 2025, freeskier Eileen Gu announced via Instagram Story that she would not be competing in the upcoming FIS World Cup competition in Calgary, which is slated to take place January 1-3, 2026.

While Gu hasn't said much more, she did cite that her brief hiatus from the World Cup was in order to "be smart" and to "schedule her contests around the big one in February," referring to the upcoming 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.

Gu had a great start to the season, with a first-place finish at Secret Garden in China and a first-place finish at the Snow League's inaugural freeski event. Gu also opted not to compete at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Copper Mountain earlier this month. Gu currently sits in fourth overall for women's halfpipe behind Kexin Zhang, Indra Brown, and Zoe Atkin.

While training in New Zealand over the summer, Gu sustained an unspecified injury, but has since seemingly recovered. It's possible that management of said injury played into her decision not to compete in Colorado or Calgary, and set her sights on the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games.

Check out Gu's announcement about not competing in Calgary below.

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The Olympic qualification period officially closes on January 19, which including the Calgary event, leaves three more World Cup events before the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games. Following Calgary, World Cup competitions will take place in Aspen, Colorado from January 7-10 and LAAX, Switzerland from January 15-18.

Due to low snow, the Calgary was pushed back from it's original start date on the 31st of December. Aspen also announced a venue change for slopestyle from Aspen Buttermilk to Aspen Snowmass. Halfpipe will continue at Buttermilk as scheduled.

Barring any injuries, Gu is still predicted to represent China at the Olympic Games. She has primarily focused on halfpipe this season in competition, but remains a wildcard contender for slopestyle and big air, where she previously won medals in 2022.