Beijing Winter Olympic ski champion Gu to join Paris public marathon

PARIS - Beijing Winter Olympic freestyle skiing champion Eileen Gu plans to run in the Paris Summer Olympics' mass public marathon, she told reporters on Wednesday.

Paris will for the first time allow non-competitors to taste an Olympic event by staging a public marathon on the same route, between the men's and women's medal races.

"I have a little secret to share with you - I will be running a marathon in Paris. It is part of the Olympics marathon, but for the public. It will be my first marathon," she said.

"Someone told me about it a few months ago when I was training in Austria and I thought, why not, I should give it a try," Gu said.

The 20-year-old San Francisco native won gold in big air and halfpipe as well as a silver in slopestyle in Beijing two years ago.

Having chosen to compete for China, she took the country by storm, charming the media and public with her perfect Mandarin and love for Chinese street food.

Gu said she hadn't had enough time training for the marathon in Paris.

"It normally requires 16 weeks of training but I've only had three weeks so far," she said.

"There is a steep section in the Paris marathon route so we will see how it goes," she said. "I'm just aiming to finish the run."

Gu spoke to the media on the sidelines of the press conference after the women's synchronised 10-metre platform event, in which Chinese duo Quan Hongchan and Chen Yuxi won gold.

Gu said she would watch a number of other competitions and hoped to speak with more medallists and compare notes about their Olympic experiences.

The Paris public marathon takes place on the evening of Aug. 10, following the men's race. REUTERS