China's golden girl Eileen Gu was overcome with emotion as she made Olympic history.
The 18-year-old, who was born in California to a Chinese mum, became the first freestyle skier to win medals in three different events.
The poster girl of Beijing 2022, nicknamed 'snow princess', won the free ski half pipe with 95.25 to add to her big air gold and slopestyle silver.
The talented youngster, fluent in Mandarin and English, shed tears as she talked of her joy - and the pressures she has been under.
"I put so much work into this, and to just feel like it was all worth it," she said after her final run, which turned into a lap of honour as she had already clinched her second Olympic title of 2022.
"There were all those little moments, the time I put in, in the gym, when I ran a half-marathon every week over the summer, when I pushed myself to be the first person in practice and the last person to leave.
"Just all those moments added up and it was just this great realisation that it was all worth it and that it was all real."
She admitted that she was 'very emotional', adding: "I chose to do a victory lap because I felt like for the first time I deserved it, I really earned it. It was just this great period, this amazing journey to this Olympics."
She felt nervous before the final because there were 'so many talented women' up against her.
"At the top I said, 'My name is Eileen Gu, and I'm the best halfpipe free skier in the world'," she added.
"Sorry about crying. I'm really grateful, I can't believe this is real. I love skiing so much. The overriding emotion is this deep-seated sense of gratitude.
"I've been skiing every single day so I'm really tired, but I feel at peace. I feel grateful. I feel passionate, and I feel proud."
Gu decided to compete for her mother's country in 2019 with the hope of inspiring "millions of young people".
With a hat-trick of medals, she has become an icon for Chinese teenagers. British freestyle skier Zoe Atkin, 19, fell on two of her three runs to finish ninth.
