Dr Bertrand Sonnery-Cottet told RMC Sport: “The timeline is quite unpredictable. It will be months before she can walk normally again.
“Her goal now is first and foremost to keep her leg and be able to walk. I think we’re not yet at the stage of returning to high-level skiing. We’re not there yet, but some injuries like hers can end in amputation…”
The health expert referenced the Olympian’s updates online and how her life may be somewhat different heading into the future.
“The latest images posted on her Instagram account show that, even though the surgeries were successful, the ‘external fixator’ – that is, the enormous pin they put in her left leg – proves that they haven’t been able to fully repair her fracture,” the doctor added.
“It’s only temporary for now. It’s important to understand that her injury is extremely serious and will cause her problems for at least months, and could even leave her with lifelong consequences.”
22-year-old Gu, who was born in the US but is representing China in the Milano Cortina 2026, has a whopping five Olympic medals to her name.
She won two golds and one silver medal at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and has now added two more to her already impressive track record, taking home two silver in the women’s freeski slopestyle.
While Gu did not defend her gold medal in the freestyle skiing, the young Olympian was still smiling from ear-to-ear, and boasted to the press: “Five-time Olympic medallist kind of has a ring to it, right?”
Hell yeah it does.Speaking at a press conference on February 16 following her success, a sports reporter seemingly tried to rain on the ski star’s parade in a now-viral moment.
He asked: “Do you see these as two silvers gained or two golds lost?”
Laughing, Gu — who is reported to be the richest athlete at this year’s Games — replied: “I’m the most decorated female freeskier in history. I think that’s an answer in and of itself.”
She added: “How do I say this? Winning a medal at the Olympics is a life-changing experience for every athlete.
“Doing it five times is exponentially harder, because every medal is equally hard for me, but everybody else’s expectations rise, right? And so, the two medals lost situation, to be quite frank with you, I think is a kind of ridiculous perspective to take.”
Take a bow, Eileen Gu.
See the moment she was asked the question here:
The record-breaking skier has been widely applauded online for her reaction to the question, with one person saying her reply was ‘perfect’.
“She gave the perfect answer to a rude question trying to get a rise out of her,” somebody said on Reddit. “We’ve heard enough from you, sir.”
Another person raged: “F**king insulting question! She did well not to get super p*ssed, it’s essentially trying to erase the massive achievement of winning 2 silvers.”
“It was a rage-bait question that she didn’t bite on, and instead politely redirected back to the awesomeness of her sport while simultaneously lifting up her competitors,” a different person said, adding: “The reporter should feel the burn.”
Others defended the reporter’s line of questioning, however.
It was suggested: “This is a loaded question, but I don’t think it was asked with any ill intent–this question gets asked a lot of people who win silver.”
Meanwhile another person argued that it was ‘a fairly standard question that people get asked in sports’.
What do you think?
Ilia Malinin is set to take on the most difficult ice skating move in the Winter Olympics on Friday (February 13).
The Team USA star already made history at the Milano Cortina Winter Games by performing the first legal backflip on Olympic ice in 50 years.
Backflips were banned in 1976 after American skater Terry Kubicka landed the risky move at the Innsbruck Winter Games.
The ban remained in place for decades, though French skater Surya Bonaly famously performed an illegal backflip at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, receiving a deduction for it.
In 2024, the long-standing prohibition was finally lifted.
Now, Ilia has his sights set on another historic goal during the men’s free skate on Friday.
Ilia Malinin performed the first legal backflip in almost five decades (Tim Clayton/Getty Images)
Ilia Malinin performed the first legal backflip in almost five decades (Tim Clayton/Getty Images)
The 21-year-old is poised to perform a quad axel – a figure skating jump that requires the skater to complete four and a half rotations in the air before landing.
“I’m hoping that I’ll feel good enough to do it [on Friday],” he told reporters, via Fox News, earlier this week.
“But, of course, I always prioritize health and safety, so I really want to put myself in the right mindset where I’ll feel really confident to go into it and not have that as something that I’m going to risk.”
In Thursday’s practice, Ilia landed the move – which you can see for yourself below.
The men’s free skate takes place Men’s free skate between 1pm and 5.10 pm ET.
The athlete is the first and only to successfully land the quad axel in competition, earning himself the nickname ‘Quad God.’
He landed the complex rotation in September 2022 at the CS US International Figure Skating Classic when he was only 18 years old.
Ilia has pulled it off multiple times since, including at the 2025 Grand Prix Final.
The quad axel has been attempted by other athletes, too, including Japanese skater Yuzuru Hanyu at the 2021 Japanese Championships.
However the double Olympic champion couldn’t quite pull it off, under-rotating and landing on two feet, as Forbes reports.
He tried once again during the 2022 Olympic Games, but once again didn’t succeed. Hanyu retired later that year, having won two Olympic gold medals and seven world medals – but without being able to pull of the move.
So if Ilia lands it cleanly on Friday, it could cement his status as one of the sport’s most daring and technically gifted skaters ever.
No pressure, then!
