Celebrating Birthday Girl Eileen Gu With 5 Dazzling SI Swimsuit Photos

The freestyle skier and six-time Olympic medalist turned 23 on Thursday, Sept. 3.

Eileen Gu was photographed by Ben Horton at The Boca Raton. Swimsuit by Blackbough Swim. | Ben Horton/Sports Illustrated

Happy birthday, Eileen Gu! The freestyle skier, who is the most decorated Olympian in the history of her sport, turns 23 today, Thursday, Sept. 3.

The San Fransisco native has an impeccable résumé, with six Olympic medals (including three gold and three silver) to her name, which she earned throughout the 2022 Beijing Olympics and the 2026 Milan-Cortina Games. Additionally, the Stanford University student is a two-time ESPY Award winner, having won Best Breakthrough Athlete and Best Female Action Sports Athlete in 2022. Gu ranked within the top five Highest-Paid Female Athletes List by Forbes in 2025 and was named toTIME’s inaugural 100 Most Influential People in Sports List earlier this year.

Plus, the professional athlete was featured in the 2025 SI Swimsuit Issue after posing for photographer Ben Watts at The Boca Raton in Boca Raton, Fla. Gu has appeared on the cover of TIME, Vogue Hong Kong, Vogue China and countless others. All of this to say, the multihyphenate has accomplished more in her 20 some years than most people do in a lifetime.

Despite her incredible success, Gu remains humble, something we learned firsthand when the professional athlete joined us on the SI Swimsuit set in Florida for last year’s issue. While racking up medals and accolades along the way, she uses her platform to encourage young girls to try out sports like freeskiing that are typically dominated by men.

“The progression of women’s skiing has just been skyrocketing in [recent] years,” Gu reflected while on set in the Sunshine State. “It has been so inspiring to first watch it when I was younger, and then now be a part of it. It has made me really retrospective and made me introspective and thinking about, what is the legacy that I wanna contribute to this sport. And I think a big part of that really is inclusivity: Making girls feel as though there’s a place for them and it’s cool, culturally relevant and something that they’re not afraid to say ‘yes’ to.”

And earlier this week, while serving as a guest on popular podcast On Purpose With Jay Shetty, Gu dropped a boss POV when it comes to her competitive mindset: “I train like I’ve never won, and I compete like I’ve never lost,” she told Shetty. Read more from the powerful conversation here.

In honor of Gu’s birthday and her continued accomplishments both inside of her sport and out, we’re throwing it back to just a few of our favorite photographs from her time on the SI Swimsuit set. Enjoy!

Eileen Gu was photographed by Ben Horton at The Boca Raton. Swimsuit by Norma Kamali. | Ben Horton/Sports Illustrated

Eileen Gu was photographed by Ben Horton at The Boca Raton. Swimsuit by Montce. | Ben Horton/Sports Illustrated

Eileen Gu was photographed by Ben Horton at The Boca Raton. Swimsuit by Blackbough Swim. | Ben Horton/Sports Illustrated

Eileen Gu was photographed by Ben Horton at The Boca Raton. Swimsuit by Ark Swimwear. | Eileen Gu was photographed by Ben Horton at The Boca Raton.

Eileen Gu was photographed by Ben Horton at The Boca Raton. Swimsuit by Polo Ralph Lauren Swim. | Ben Horton/Sports Illustrated

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