Olympic champion Eileen Gu of the People’s Republic of China opens her 2025–26 FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cup campaign on Friday, 12 December, at Secret Garden, the same halfpipe where she claimed her historic gold medal at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.
Gu has returned twice to the Secret Garden, winning in 2023 and 2024, further cementing her status as the clear favorite. With 14 World Cup halfpipe victories already to her name, she arrives as the skier to beat once again.
Last season saw Gu win three World Cup events, but then miss the later half of the season and the World Championships due to injuries.
As her new campaign gets underway, the 22-year-old has already showcased strong early-season form at Shaun White’s Snow League event, winning in the Secret Garden halfpipe against a field of eight women.
This freeski World Cup opener is set to bring together one of the strongest women’s halfpipe fields ever assembled, including Great Britain’s Zoe Atkin and China’s Li Fanghui, who were the co-winners of last season’s Crystal Globe.
Canada’s Cassie Sharpe, the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic champion, also enters in top form after earning 2025 X Games halfpipe gold. Sharpe finished second to Gu at Secret Garden last season and remains a serious podium threat.
Gu begins what will be a demanding World Cup season, with the defending halfpipe champion also set to compete across slopestyle and big air—the events in which she won Olympic silver and gold to complete her historic three-medal performance at Beijing 2022. She’ll be hoping for more at the Milano Cortina 2026 Games in February.
Read on for how and when to watch Gu in action.
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