SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Freestyle snowboarding champion and worldwide mannequin Eileen Gu is getting ready for a homecoming of a unique form as she steps into the position of grand marshal for the San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade on Saturday.
HOW TO WATCH: SF Chinese New Year Parade 2026
For the 22-year-old, the distinction carries deep private that means rooted in her childhood and her connection to the town the place she was born and raised.
“I’m so excited. The San Francisco Chinese New Year parade is, like, none other,” Gu stated throughout an unique one-on-one interview with ABC7 Eyewitness News anchor Kristen Sze within the Mission District. “I grew up watching it, and the entire city knows what’s happening, because the sound, the cheering, the sights, the smells, the brightness, it’s really unparalleled.”
Gu, a three-time Olympic champion and six-time medalist who just lately added three extra medals on the Milan-Cortina Games, stated the grand marshal position is in contrast to something she has accomplished earlier than. “This is a special thing to be Grand Marshal, and be part of it,” she stated.
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Even together with her fame for fearlessness on the slopes, Gu admitted one a part of her parade position makes her a bit nervous: lighting the ceremonial firecrackers. “A little bit? Um, I’m sure there are safety precautions that I’m going to get briefed on,” she stated. “But yeah, first time handling explosives, I will say.”
Gu’s ties to San Francisco run deep. She attended Katherine Delmar Burke School for Okay-8 after which San Francisco University High School, the place she ran cross nation and monitor, performed basketball, and developed a love for the town’s trails and shoreline.
“San Francisco is such a special city, and I will not shut up about it to anybody who will listen,” she stated.
She recalled attending the San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade as a baby, even assembly then-Mayor, now Governor Gavin Newsom.
RELATED: SF native, Olympic gold medalist Eileen Gu named grand marshal of city’s Chinese New Year Parade
She highlighted working Hellman Hollow in Golden Gate Park from sixth grade by means of highschool and nonetheless revisits the course for enjoyable.
“How many cities, major cities in the world, can you think of that have the incredible routes that the video offers?” she stated. “There are so many hidden trails in there that I’m still exploring after all these years.”
Gu stated the Chinese New Year has at all times been central to her household life, particularly the time spent cooking together with her mom and grandmother.
“I remember growing up making dumplings with my mom and grandma here in San Francisco,” she stated. “My mom is the best at rolling them and making them super thin. And then my grandma was the best at packing those so full of filling. It’s, like, impossible to believe how she got them closed.”
Her grandmother, who helped elevate her, stays a guiding presence regardless of passing away whereas Gu was competing on the Olympics. “She and I were massively close, and I’m so grateful to have had the time that I had with her,” Gu stated. “She has this indomitable spirit, and I think that it’s almost impossible not to live on with that spirit.”
Though born within the Year of the Sheep, Gu laughed when instructed she shares traits with these born within the Year of the Horse. “Energetic- yep. Restless, charismatic. Can’t see that. Optimistic, quick thinking. Hopefully, confident, probably the most hardworking when motivated. Definitely,” she stated.
Gu, who has spent the previous two weeks touring throughout three continents, stated her long-term objectives stay centered on influence. “My biggest goal has always been making the greatest amount of positive impact on the global stage that I possibly can,” she stated. “At this moment in time, that takes the form of sport, fashion, and education.”
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