Olympic Champion Eileen Gu to Participate in Paris Public Marathon

Beijing Winter Olympic freestyle skiing champion Eileen Gu announced her plan to run in the Paris Summer Olympics' public marathon. This will be the first time non-competitors can participate. Gu, who switched to compete for China, disclosed that she has only had three weeks of training so far.

Beijing Winter Olympic freestyle skiing champion Eileen Gu plans to run in the Paris Summer Olympics' mass public marathon, she told reporters on Wednesday.

For the first time, Paris will allow non-competitors to experience an Olympic event by staging a public marathon on the same route, between the men's and women's medal races. Gu revealed her participation, sharing, "I have a little secret to share with you - I will be running a marathon in Paris. It is part of the Olympics marathon, but for the public. It will be my first marathon," she said.

Eileen Gu, the 20-year-old San Francisco native who won gold in big air and halfpipe as well as a silver in slopestyle in Beijing two years ago, said, "Someone told me about it a few months ago when I was training in Austria and I thought, why not, I should give it a try." Known for her perfect Mandarin and love for Chinese street food, Gu mentioned that she has had minimal training for the marathon in Paris. "It normally requires 16 weeks of training but I've only had three weeks so far. There is a steep section in the Paris marathon route so we will see how it goes," she said, adding, "I'm just aiming to finish the run."

Gu made the announcement on the sidelines of a press conference after the women's synchronized 10-metre platform event, where Chinese duo Quan Hongchan and Chen Yuxi won gold. She also expressed her excitement about watching other competitions and engaging with more medallists to compare Olympic experiences. The Paris public marathon is set for the evening of Aug. 10, following the men's race.

(With inputs from agencies.)