Eileen Gu, 22, born in San Francisco to an American father and Chinese mother, made a 2019 decision to represent China in international competition. She has explained her reasoning publicly — wanting to grow the sport in China and have greater impact there than in the US, where she felt representation was already strong. At the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics, she won silver in slopestyle and big air, bringing her career total to five Olympic medals.
In an interview with The Athletic, Gu disclosed she was physically assaulted at age 15, had her college dorm robbed, and received death threats related to her country-of-representation decision. Stanford's public safety office did not return a request for comment from the outlet.
At a press conference, a reporter asked whether Gu viewed her results as 'two silvers gained or two golds lost.' Gu laughed and pushed back, noting she is the most decorated female freestyle skier in Olympic history and called the 'golds lost' framing 'a ridiculous perspective.'
VP JD Vance, appearing on Fox News, said he hoped American-born citizens would represent the US but declined to say her status should change, calling it an Olympic Committee matter. Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom called Gu a 'traitor' for representing China. Separately, the Wall Street Journal reported Gu was set to receive direct payment from a Chinese government sports bureau, disclosed accidentally in a public budget document.
