Eileen Gu Power Poses in Red Hot Scoop Neck One Piece in Boca Raton for SI Swimsuit

The Olympic freestyle skier was photographed by Ben Horton this week and is set to make her debut in the 2025 magazine.

Eileen Gu was photographed by Ben Horton in Boca Raton, Fla. / Ben Horton/Sports Illustrated

SI Swimsuit has started tapping models for the 2025 issue and the first group of women are extraordinary, young, successful talented athletes. We couldn’t be more excited to welcome gymnast Suni Lee, sprinter Gabby Thomas, golfer Nelly Korda and skier Eileen Gu to the fold. All four were photographed by Ben Horton in Boca Raton, Fla. this month. And, surprise, surprise, there’s more to come!

Freestyle skier Gu first hit the slopes at the age of three and was already pro by the time she was 16. In 2021 she became the first Chinese athlete to win a gold medal at the X Games, as well as the first rookie to take home three medals (two gold and one bronze) at the event. The San Francisco-born and raised athlete decided to represent the People’s Republic of China when she made her debut at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. She completely swept the Olympics that year, taking home two gold medals (for big air and halfpipe) and one silver for (slopestyle) slopestyle events. The 21-year-old also proved her athletic prowess by completing the double cork 1620, a trick few women have attempted.

Eileen Gu was photographed by Ben Horton in Boca Raton, Fla. Swimsuit by Norma Kamali. / Ben Horton/Sports Illustrated

This week Gu proved her modeling skills while on location with the team in the Sunshine State. The first official pics have dropped and we totally in awe. Check out how incredible she looks in this stunning Baywatch-inspired red hot scoop-neck one-piece from Normal Kamali. Read more about Gu here, and view some behind the scenes moments here.

Today, the 15-time World Cup titleholder (the most of any freestyle skier in history) is also focused on completing her education at Stanford University, as a quantum physics major, and dabbling in her passion for modeling. The two-time ESPY Award winner has landed the cover of the Chinese editions of Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan and Vogue, and posed for brands like Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co. and Victoria’s Secret.

“I think skiing and fashion definitely play off one another in my life. In skiing specifically, I help design what is on my skis; I have my signature on it and other elements I pitch. Last year, it was the Chinese proverb, ‘A Dragon Amongst People,’ in the shape of a dragon. This year I have a phoenix, with ‘Eternal Flame’ etched onto the edge of the sidewall. It’s a play on the Olympic flame. There are a lot of personal style elements I’ve put into my gear that mean a lot to me,” Gu told Elle magazine. “I think skiing and fashion feed into each other in that they’re both so personal and expressive, so the play of both is something that’s so fun for me.”