LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — When not risking her neck performing acrobatic tricks on skis, Eileen Gu loves to strut down runways and pose for magazine covers as a model.
So, it was no surprise she wore the most fashionable ski suit at the Winter Olympics.
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China's Eileen Gu competes during women's freestyle skiing slopestyle qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
China's Eileen Gu celebrates competes during women's freestyle skiing slopestyle qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
China's Eileen Gu shows her name on her ski suit after competing in women's freestyle skiing slopestyle qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Eddie Pells)
China's Eileen Gu looks on during women's freestyle skiing slopestyle qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Gu qualified for the women’s slopestyle final on Saturday wearing an outfit full of details inspired by her Chinese heritage and her own personal quirks.
The 22-year-old Gu jumped at the chance to talk about her suit after coming off the course.
“Oh my gosh, I’ve been waiting for this moment, fit check!” she said before launching into a breakdown of her getup.
The American-born Gu competes for China, where her mother is from. She said she and a fellow Stanford student designed her suit to honor that family background while also giving a nod to the 2022 Beijing Games, where Gu became a global freeski star when she won two golds and a silver medal.
The bone white base color of the suit, made by her Chinese sportswear sponsor Anta, mimics Chinese ceramics — also called “China” — creating a backdrop for the blue graphics and pale golden highlights.
A Chinese-style dragon rears on the sleeve below another patch of a dragon looking fierce and a logo with her name in bold letters. Her name also appears in scrawled graffiti-like lettering under a flap near her neck. That one is covered by a bib, which, because it's white, does nothing to ruin the look. she said.
“Of course, I had to bring in the dragon element which was relevant at the last Olympics as well,” she said. “It brought me strength, it brought me courage, it served me well, so I wanted to keep that.”
One would be hard pressed to find a more personalized suit, which includes a thermometer that changes color according to the temperature.
“I was obsessed with mood rings when I was little,” she said. “Like, you know, you put them on and they change color with temperature. And so it’s a color changing thermometer.”
There is also a tiny compass that Gu said was to satisfy her intellectual side. (She did enter Stanford a year early after acing the SAT after all.)
“I just wanted a little modular element for my little nerd brain to nerd out on. But in case you get lost, I can tell you which way is north,” she said.
But at the end, it came to back to the sport she excels at.
Pointing to another spot on her suit, Gu said: “I have clouds down here to represent the feeling of flying, which I love so much about freeskiing.”
AP National Writer Eddie Pells contributed to this report.
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
China's Eileen Gu competes during women's freestyle skiing slopestyle qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
China's Eileen Gu celebrates competes during women's freestyle skiing slopestyle qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
China's Eileen Gu shows her name on her ski suit after competing in women's freestyle skiing slopestyle qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Eddie Pells)
China's Eileen Gu looks on during women's freestyle skiing slopestyle qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Savannah Guthrie told the potential kidnappers of her mother Nancy Guthrie on Saturday that the family is prepared to pay for her safe return, as the frantic search for the 84-year-old Arizona resident has entered a seventh day.
“We received your message, and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her,” she said in a video posted on social media, flanked by her siblings. “This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.”
The “Today” show host was referencing a message that was sent to the Tucson-based television station KOLD on Friday afternoon, according to Kevin Smith, a spokesperson for the FBI office in Phoenix.
KOLD said it received an email related to the Guthrie case on social media that day but declined to share specific details about its contents as the FBI conducted its review.
The station was one of multiple press outlets that received alleged ransom letters during the week. At least one letter made monetary demands and established Thursday evening and the following Monday evening as deadlines.
In a news conference Thursday, law enforcement officials declined to affirm that the letters were credible but said all tips were being investigated seriously. They also said one letter referenced Nancy Guthrie’s Apple watch and a specific feature of her property.
The video released Saturday was the third this week that pleaded with potential kidnappers.
Investigators think Nancy Guthrie was taken against her will from her home just outside Tucson last weekend. DNA tests showed blood on Guthrie’s front porch was a match to her, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has said. Authorities have not identified any suspects or ruled anyone out.
The sheriff said Friday that he was frustrated that a camera at Nancy Guthrie’s home was not able to capture images of anyone the day she went missing.
Investigators have found that the home’s doorbell camera was disconnected early Sunday and that software data recorded movement at the home minutes later. But Nancy Guthrie did not have an active subscription, so none of the images were able to be recovered.
“It is concerning, it’s actually almost disappointing, because you’ve got your hopes up,” Nanos told The Associated Press in an interview. “OK, they got an image. ‘Well, we do, but we don’t.’”
President Donald Trump, speaking on Air Force One on Friday, said the investigation was going “very well.”
“We have some clues that I think are very strong,” Trump said, while en route to his Florida estate. “We have some things that may be coming out reasonably soon.”
They were back in Nancy Guthrie’s neighborhood on Friday.
The sheriff’s department posted on social media to say access was restricted to the road in front of the home to give investigators space. Journalists staked out there were directed to move.
The Catalina Foothills Association, a neighborhood group, told residents in a letter that authorities were resuming searches in the area immediately.
“I know we all stand together in our collective disbelief and sadness and greatly appreciate your willingness to speak with law enforcement, share camera images and allow searches of your properties,” the association president said in the letter.
The sheriff said Thursday that investigators have not given up on trying to retrieve camera recordings.
“I wish technology was as easy as we believe it is, that here’s a picture, here’s your bad guy. But it’s not,” Nanos told the AP. “There are pieces of information that come to us from these tech groups that say ‘this is what we have and we can’t get anymore.’”
The sheriff also said he had no new information about the note to the TV station or other purported ransom letters sent to some media outlets, saying the FBI is handling that side of the investigation.
Meanwhile concern about Nancy Guthrie’s health condition has grown, because authorities say she needs vital daily medicine. She is said to have a pacemaker and have dealt with high blood pressure and heart issues, according to sheriff’s dispatcher audio on broadcastify.com.
“Her conditions, I would imagine, are worsening day by day,” Nanos said. “She requires medication. And I have no way of knowing whether they’re getting that medication to her.”
The kidnapping has captured the attention of Americans, including Trump, who said he was directing federal authorities to help investigate.
A man walks his dogs passed Nancy Guthrie’s home in the early morning of Saturday, in Tucson, Ariz. Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
Nancy Guthrie’s home in Tucson, Ariz., on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026 (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
This image provided by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, shows a missing person alert for Nancy Guthrie. (Pima County Sheriff’s Department via AP)
Members of the press work in the neighborhood near the home of Nancy Guthrie, the missing mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Caitlin O'Hara)
The home of Nancy Guthrie, the missing mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, is seen from above, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Caitlin O'Hara)
Pima County, Ariz., Sheriff Chris Nanos speaks with The Associated Press, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
