Eileen Gu, the American skier who opted to join Team China in the 2022 Winter Olympics, was injured in what is being described as a “very terrible accident” while training in New Zealand.
According to the South China Morning Post, the accident occurred on Friday.
Gu, 21, had only just returned to training after another injury sustained at the Winter X Games in January. The California-native was flown to a hospital in Christchurch to undergo medical imaging.
No details of the type or severity of the injury were released.
The South China Morning Post reports that witnesses said Gu was seriously injured and removed from the scene on a stretcher.
“Unfortunately, a very terrible accident occurred yesterday due to human error,” Gu wrote on the Chinese social media site Weibo. “I hope I can return to the snow soon, but I’m still waiting for confirmation from the expert team.”
Gu also admonished fans and media from filming her while training due to the danger of being distracted.
“I have to concentrate fully during training, especially when I am preparing to start, as it’s very dangerous to be interrupted,” Gu said. “I also have to focus on picturing and imagining the moves while on the cable car.
“In order to save time, I don’t have lunch breaks and try to use the bathroom as little as possible. So please don’t record or take photos while I’m training.”
Gu ignited a firestorm of controversy in 2019 after announcing that she would be competing for her mother’s home country, China, in the 2022 Winter Olympics, not the United States. Her father is an American.
Gu won two gold medals competing for China in 2022.