Olympians often have to rely on alternative ways to make a living but very rarely do they become global superstars from endorsements alone.
But this is the case for China's Eileen Gu, an American-born skier who is competing at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Games.
The talented 22-year-old won two golds and one silver at the 2022 Winter Games, and opened this year's competition with a silver in the freeski slopestyle final.
Gu missed out on gold to Switzerland’s Mathilde Gremaud, who scored 86.96 to her 86.58, in what wasn't the start she would have envisioned.
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But away from sports, Gu is said to be the single highest-paid athlete at this year's Games, as her stock has continued to skyrocket following her performances leading up to the Olympics four years ago.
Who is Eileen Gu?
Gu was born on 3 September 2003 in San Francisco, California, to Yan Gu, a first-generation Chinese immigrant to the United States, and an American father.
Raised as a single child, she started to take an interest in skiing at Lake Tahoe, where her mum would work as a part-time ski instructor, before winning her first national championship at nine.
Gu studied in the US but would attend cram school in Beijing for maths, with the extra work earning her early admittance to Stanford University in 2020.
She has taken time off in the 2025–26 academic year to prepare for, and compete in, this year's Olympics.
Despite representing Team USA in her teenage years, she made the switch to China, her mother's homeland, in 2019.
Speaking to Time about her decision last month, she said: “The U.S. already has the representation. I like building my own pond.”
How has Gu made her millions?
According to Forbes, Gu earned $23 million (£16.9m) of her $23.1m (£17m) 2025 earnings from endorsements and engagements away from skiing.
She is also the fourth highest-paid female athlete in the world, only behind tennis players Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek.
The second highest-paid female Winter Olympian, Lindsey Vonn, earned less than half of what Gu did last year, at $8.2m (£6m).
While Gu can win totals of around $20,000 for winning World Cup events and bagged $55,000 for winning a halfpipe event in the Snow League in December, it's the lucrative endorsements she's got under her belt which are responsible for her wealth.
The IMG model has got deals with the likes of Red Bull, Porsche, IWC Schaffhausen, TCL electronics, and a number of Chinese-based companies.
TCL recently joined The Olympic Partner (TOP) program too, meaning Gu can be used at the forefront of its marketing for the Games.
Gu has become a global superstar in the lead up to the 2022 games, securing deals with Tiffany and Louis Vuitton, while appearing on covers of the Chinese editions of InStyle, Marie Claire and Vogue.
The skier will be hoping to become the first ever athlete to win a third freestyle gold medal at the Olympics, while holding a total of four.
She is yet to compete in the big air and halfpipe events over the coming days.
Topics: Olympics, Winter Olympics, China, Sport, Money
Joshua Nair