25/02/2026

LYFE WEDNESDAY | FEB 25, 2026

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Malaysian Paper

From slopes to catwalk

/thesundaily /

E ILEEN GU crowned her Olympic Games with a gold medal earlier this week, saving her best until last. Now she is all set for Milan Fashion Week. China’s freeski superstar started Sunday’s women’s halfpipe final with two silvers under her belt in Italy but yet to top the podium. After fluffing her first run in dazzling sunshine in Livigno, Gu upped her game, soaring to gold. Gu’s sixth Olympic medal means she is now the most decorated freestyle skier in the history of the Winter Games, taking her clear of a tie with Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury and Chinese teammate Xu Mengtao. The 22-year-old was the darling of the Beijing Olympics four years ago, where she won two gold medals and a silver, and she came to the Milan-Cortina Games seeking a clean sweep. o Ice queen Eileen Gu all set for Milan Fashion Week

Gu came up just short in slopestyle and big air before finally clinching top spot in the Italian Alps on Sunday. The US-born freeskier said she was proud of her achievements after taking a “gamble” by entering three events – she had not competed in big air for four years. “I have done something that I took a big risk in trusting myself and I’m glad that I did. “I walk away as the most decorated freeskier of all time, male or female. I have the most gold medals of any freeskier ever, male or female. “And that is something that I’m so, so proud of. It’s unbelievable to me. It’s still surreal,” she said at her post-competition press conference When asked

Models walk the runway during the Giorgio Armani collection show at Milan Fashion Week.

skiing,” she said. Despite her success, Gu is no stranger to controversy. She started her sporting career representing the US, only to switch allegiance to China – where her mother is from – in 2019. That decision has divided opinion in her country of birth. The athlete gave an interesting insight into the pressure she is under earlier at the Milan-Cortina Games, saying she feels she is “carrying the weight of two countries on my shoulders”. But she is confident that representing China gives her the platform to achieve her goals, pointing to a huge growth of interest in snow sports. “There are kids in China, there are girls in China whose lives are going to be touched by the beautiful and wonderful power of sport. “So that in and of itself is absolutely measured impact that I think I had always wanted. I reached that goal and I exceeded it,” she said. – AFP

also give an insight into a dizzying, action-packed life that features skiing, studying at Stanford and a fashion career. Now that competition is over, it is time for a change of gear. Gu said: “It’s fashion week in Milan. I have the other job, the other fashion thing. “I’m really excited to just explore some other avenues, be creative and explore my femininity through fashion, which is something I’ve always loved, and to kind of put that in juxtaposition with skiing and with sports. “And I think they co-exist so beautifully and so I hope to represent that next week in Milan.” Long term, her aim is to do something with “global beneficial impact”. “Right now, I’m young, I’m energetic. My body is like physically as capable as it can be compared to, you know, 30 years down the line. “So it makes the most sense for me to do that through the avenues that I’m exploring now, fashion, sport, and

“I take big risks. And for the last two Olympics, it’s worked out. But even if it hadn’t, I think I left nothing on the table,” she said. Star billing Gu is one of the few athletes at the Winter Games who transcends her sport, placing her on a similar level to US alpine star Lindsey Vonn. Her impact in Beijing was such that she featured in Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world in 2022. Last year, she was fourth on the list of the highest-earning woman athletes, according to Forbes – the vast majority of that earned through endorsement deals.

what sets her apart, Gu said she is “not afraid to try”.

Gold medallist Gu celebrates on the

podium after winning the

freestyle skiing women’s freeski halfpipe final during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games. – PICS FROM AFP

Gu’s social media numbers confirm her global reach – three million Instagram followers and 14 million likes on TikTok. And the posts

Thousands of TV hopefuls flock to beach audition for Baywatch reboot ASPIRING TV lifeguards strutted their beach bodies at a recent audition for Fox’s 2026 reboot of Baywatch , a franchise that 30 years ago set a Guinness World Record for the most-viewed weekly television series in the world. The original sun-kissed competitive streaming landscape. Marina del Rey was buzzing as roughly 2,000 hopefuls flooded the beach, many in eye-catching red swimwear – a playful nod to the iconic Baywatch colours. They underwent interviews and posed for photos.

saves to shark scares. At its 1996 peak, the series had an estimated weekly audience of more than 1.1 billion people across 142 countries and helped launch the careers of international superstars Pamela Anderson, Carmen Electra and Jason Momoa. The reboot highlights how Hollywood is leaning on nostalgia-powered franchises to stand out in an increasingly

“I was really excited to see a Baywatch reboot. I grew up around the ocean. My dad’s Puerto Rican, my mum’s actually from Southern California, so it’s just in my blood. “I surf and spend a lot of time on the beach, and I think that it would just be such a fun project to work on, and am so excited to even get to be in the room today,” Sara Acevedo Ruben, 27, from Los Angeles, told Reuters at the auditions. Kibwe Williamson, 48, an engineer from Florida, said he aimed to do some other kind of work. “I’m hoping this is the beginning of a change of career, you know. I’ve tried to already start moving to storytelling, right now I’m an engineer, I’m hoping I can maybe do something else,” he said. The series is scheduled to begin shooting in March on LA’s famous Venice Beach as well as at the Fox

programme, led by David Hasselhoff, ran from 1989 to 2001 and sent its lifeguards on nonstop, high-surf adventures that ranged from ocean

The revival taps into a deep well of 90s nostalgia, drawing fans who remember the show’s global heyday and newcomers eager to redefine it for 2026.

and newcomers eager to redefine it for 2026. “I don’t see it as a new show – it’s really a continuation of where we left off. “You’re essentially fast-forwarding 20 years, which I think is a genius concept,” said David Chokachi, an original Baywatch cast member returning for the reboot.

studio lot. “We’re excited to discover fresh faces with authentic SoCal energy as we bring back Baywatch for a new generation of fans,” Michael Thorn, president of Fox Television Network, said in a press release. The revival taps into a deep well of 90s nostalgia, drawing fans who remember the show’s global heyday

Auditioners pose for pictures during an open casting call for the Baywatch reboot in Los Angeles. – PICS FROM REUTERS