“Couldn’t Sleep at Night”: Eileen Gu Prioritizes Mental Health at 2025 X Games After Bearing Gruesome Injury for Gold Once

Aspen X Games was a real ride of emotions this year. On one side, Chloe Kim was making history with her stunning displays and on the other side Eileen Gu had a bump in her journey. On January 24th, one of the most expected athletes of the games Eileen had to pull out from the ski halfpipe and ski big air events. The decision was made after she fell during the street style competition and hit the safety netting in Aspen, Colorado.

Doctors came and helped her off the scene, where she later admitted having a struggle with severe bruising. Her fans came to see her shine, but it wasn’t possible. On the same day, Gu was officially included in China’s 170 athletes list for the forthcoming Asian Winter Games in Harbin. Although she has not publicly announced that she will be attending the event, one thing was very clear-Eileen Gu is putting her health first.

During the X Games livestream on YouTube, the host couldn’t help but applaud Eileen Gu’s journey. “I told you before we came on the air. It’s impressive. I know how much you want to push it. Last year, when you were injured, you literally wrote something on your skis—it said, you know, pain is only in the mind. You can only say that for so long, and you made the big choice to choose yourself and the bigger long game picture.”

Eileen nodded and shared her battle last year: “Yeah, you’re right. So last year I was dealing with some of, honestly, the worst pain I’ve ever had to ski through. My hip was killing me. I took a really hard slam in slopestyle training, and so I actually wasn’t able to do any of the trainings. I just showed up to Halfpipe on the contest day. I wrote ‘pain is temporary’ on my hand, and I was just checking it every single lap. And, you know, I ended up winning, so I was really glad that I did it last year.” But this year, she explained, things felt different. “I feel like it’s time to kind of look after my body. I’ve already proved to myself and the world that I can overcome that kind of mental hurdle.”

With a mix of exhaustion and illness, Eileen faced an uphill battle. “You can kind of hear it in my voice. I sound a little questionable. Coming straight off a World Cup, so just kind of all over the place. I had a fever last week for like five days. I don’t anymore. I’m not contagious anymore, guys. Don’t worry.” She continued, “Couldn’t sleep at night, was coughing, was sick.” Between nonstop skiing, and the toll of it all, she made the decision to prioritize herself: “It’s time to take my mental health, take my physical health, prioritize it, and come back stronger next year.” For Eileen, this year was all about stepping back to leap forward.

Back in 2023, Eileen Gu was a victim of a severe blow during training, where she suffered an MCL strain, ACL strain and a bone bruise. The crash made her withdraw from the Winter X Games in Aspen, which made fans sad. But fast forward to 2024, Eileen made her return to Buttermilk Ski Area to extend her record for women’s halfpipe skiing.

But it was not without its challenges; she competed through the event with hip pain from another training accident at the X Games. As ever the fighter, Eileen wrote ‘pain is temporary’ on her hand, something that would encourage her to go on. And now? Eileen’s giving fans a glimpse into her recent injury.

Eileen Gu gives an update on her injury!

Eileen Gu was set to dazzle the 2025 Winter X Games stage, but as the fun was on, she posted some rather sad news on Instagram. She said this while sharing a screenshot and agreed that her tight schedule was affecting her. “I’m being so fr (for real) when I say my ONLY goal this X Games is to make it out healthy,” she posted. Unfortunately, that goal was lost after a bad crash during the Streetstyle finals at Buttermilk.

“Had a rough time in Streetstyle finals today. Thank you for all the well wishes,” Eileen wrote in her IG stories. But the update got even heavier when she revealed, “I’m okay but unable to walk at this point in time due to some really aggressive bruising on that last crash.” With that, she had to withdraw from the 2025 X Games, and her fans had to figure out what to make of a premature ending to what was supposed to be a dominating championship run. The official site itself also had the mark of her final placing as fourth.

The road to Aspen was no less challenging. Eileen confessed, “To be completely honest, my mental and physical tanks hit zero yesterday,” and she had thought of quitting two nights before the games. Recovering from five days of fever and the back to back 12-hour training for various events had been the final straw. While this wasn’t the ending anyone hoped for, Eileen’s honesty and resilience show that even the strongest athletes need to prioritize their well-being. Fans are already counting down for her next comeback—because if anyone can rise from the ashes, it’s Eileen Gu.