Eileen Gu goes for gold in slopestyle, but a tough field stands in her way.

ZHANGJIAKOU, China — Eileen Gu, the 18-year-old from California who is representing China at the Beijing Games, will be looking for a second gold medal at the women’s freeski slopestyle final on Tuesday.

It will not be easy. Gu’s biggest rival is Kelly Sildaru of Estonia, who finished first in qualifying rounds, and several other women have reasonable expectations to reach the podium.

The slopestyle course — a series of rails and obstacles followed by three big ski jumps — has been difficult to complete. Marin Hamill of the United States, who advanced to the final ranked seventh, will not compete in the event after sustaining a leg injury on her second qualifying run. She was taken off the course in an ambulance.

That leaves 11 finalists, including Hamill’s American teammate, Maggie Voisin, who is making her third Olympic appearance. In 2014, she was at the Sochi Games but broke a leg in training before the competition. In the 2018 Games, she finished fourth. She arrived in China hungry for a medal.

Most of the focus, however, has been on Gu, who was born and raised in California by a Chinese mother with deep roots in Beijing. She spent a couple of years with the U.S. national team before announcing, in 2019, that she would compete for China, in part to help build the country’s winter-sports market.

Gu is an emerging star and a ubiquitous presence on Chinese television during these Olympics. Her face seems to be everywhere, including in the sky (a recent light show created a portrait of her using more than 500 drones) and in advertisements for her many Chinese sponsors.

Her decision to compete for China has raised questions in the United States. China does not allow dual citizenship, and Gu has dodged questions about whether she has surrendered her U.S. passport. Online critics suggested in recent days that her use of sites that are banned in China indicate that she is out of touch with the struggles of the millions of Chinese who face censorship.

But during her Olympic events, she has shined, and China has embraced her warmly. The love affair would only deepen with another medal — especially a gold one.