She’s a 22-year-old Stanford undergrad finding out quantum physics. She’s a trend mannequin and one among the world’s highest-earning feminine athletes, netting greater than $23 million last year.
She’s additionally simply received two extra Olympic medals in Milan. And but freestyle skier Eileen Gu has confronted extra vitriol than ever over her choice to compete for China as an alternative of the United States, the place she was born and raised.
This isn’t new territory for Gu, one among the most acknowledged names in her sport. The San Francisco native has been surrounded by controversy for a few years, with world scrutiny and media protection reaching a fever pitch throughout her 2022 Olympics debut in Beijing.
At the time, she tried to stay impartial as a lot as potential – emphasizing her ties to each international locations as a toddler born to a Chinese mom and American father.
This time, nevertheless, is totally different.
The rhetoric in opposition to her has been amplified particularly by right-wing platforms, tapping right into a fervent “America First” nationalism fueled by the Trump administration and the US president’s MAGA base.
Gu, too, is now not the 18-year-old in Beijing who grew to become the youngest-ever Olympic freestyle snowboarding champion. She’s older, extra profitable, extra highly effective – and, notably, extra prepared to talk up about the abuse she has confronted.
“I’ve been through a lot in the last four years and even beyond that,” she mentioned at a information convention on February 9 after profitable silver in the freeski slopestyle competitors.
“I’ve gone through things at 22 that I don’t think any person ever should have to deal with, be it threats, vitriol, online hate, physical attacks – you name it, the list goes on,” she added.
“But I get stronger, right? That’s what’s so wonderful about being young. You adapt, you learn and you get stronger and better.”
Critics and defenders
Many dual-nationality American athletes have opted to represent other countries for quite a lot of causes, be they private, emotional, monetary, or entry to higher alternatives.
But few have attracted as a lot scrutiny – or commentary – as Gu at a time when the US and China are in an more and more fractious geopolitical rivalry.
Gu first introduced that she would change to compete for China in 2015, writing at the time that it was an “incredibly tough decision.” She added that she was “proud of my heritage, and equally proud of my American upbringings.”
But that call rankled many. Critics identified China’s many alleged human rights abuses, together with the suppression of Uyghur Muslims in China’s western Xinjiang area – which Gu has not publicly addressed. Others argued that she had benefited from an American schooling, American coaching amenities and coaches – however she wasn’t giving again to her nation of delivery.
That debate flared again to life throughout this ongoing Winter Olympics, particularly on fashionable conservative podcasts and media shops. Even some Republican politicians like Florida’s Sen. Rick Scott and Tennessee’s Rep. Andy Ogles have weighed in, accusing Gu of supporting American adversaries.
Another such determine is former NBA participant Enes Kanter Freedom, a longtime critic of China’s ruling Communist Party – who branded Gu a “traitor” in an X submit on Tuesday.
“She was born in America, raised in America, lives in America, and chose to compete against her own country for the worst human rights abuser on the planet, China,” Freedom wrote, accusing Gu of “disappearing” every time the matter of human rights come up.
In an interview with Fox News, US Vice President JD Vance was requested to remark immediately about whether or not he thought Gu was “treasonous” in selecting to characterize China and not converse out about human rights.
Vance’s reply was measured – he mentioned he had “no idea” what Gu’s standing “should be” – although he did say he hoped athletes who grew up in the US and benefited from its techniques would need to compete for the nation.
Still, the reality he was posed the query exhibits how high-profile the problem has change into, particularly amongst conservatives.
Some have drawn comparisons to different Asian American athletes – together with Alysa Liu, the determine skating famous person making her Olympic comeback after getting back from an early retirement, and snowboarder Chloe Kim, a two-time Olympic ladies’s halfpipe champion.
Like Gu, each Liu and Kim have been born in California to immigrant mother and father. But Liu and Kim are each competing for the US – a undeniable fact that many social media customers have identified, casting the two ladies as examples of what they consider a second-generation American ought to be.
“Chloe Kim isn’t a traitor,” one remark reads below a TikTok video about Gu.
Liu’s private story additionally contrasts closely with Gu’s, which has been seized upon by some social media commentators.
Both have been introduced up in the Bay Area. But whereas Gu hailed from a rich household that frolicked in each the US and China, Liu’s father fled China after serving to to steer the Tiananmen democracy protests, which China’s Communist Party cracked down on brutally.
But Gu additionally has her fair proportion of supporters – who’ve additionally change into extra vocal this 12 months, with many defending her selections.
“China pays top money for top talent. Yes she’s American and she’s competing for China against us. But would you not do the same?” one other TikTok remark learn. Some identified that Gu is half Chinese – why wouldn’t she compete for China?
Others joked that if given the alternative, they, too, would take a paycheck over representing America, given its many social ills and controversial insurance policies proper now – reflecting a widespread sense of disillusionment in the US.
“USA treats immigrants the way they do then gets mad she didn’t pick them,” one other remark learn.
‘Attacked and cyberbullied’
Though Gu has by no means strayed from her core message – that she is proud to be each Chinese and American – she has additionally change into much more assertive in talking out about what she has endured in the public eye.
“Sometimes it feels like I’m carrying the weight of two countries on my shoulders,” she said after competing final week.
And talking forward of the Games, she advised the Associated Press that she will get criticism from all corners – starting from individuals who “thought I wasn’t Chinese enough” when she dyed her hair blond, to these opposing her choice to characterize China.
Some of that strain has morphed into real-life hazard, too.
While on campus at Stanford University, the place she was admitted in 2022, she was “physically assaulted on the street,” obtained dying threats, and had her dormitory robbed, she advised The Athletic.
Part of her new outspokenness could also be as a result of she’s at the prime of her recreation, with nothing left to show.
“I’ve gone through some tough times. I went to college, grew up a little bit, and now I feel a lot lighter,” she advised Reuters forward of the Games.
“I’ve won more World Cups than any freeskier ever, male or female. I am currently tied for most Olympic medals … Before, I think, I was doing what I knew how to do; now I’m doing what I want to do.”
But it might additionally must do with how a lot her fame and success have skyrocketed over the previous 4 years – alongside together with her earnings.
Gu was the world’s fourth highest-paid feminine athlete in 2025; however in comparison with different athletes, much more of Gu’s earnings come from her endorsements than her paychecks on the slopes, in keeping with Forbes.
She’s obtained a protracted listing of partnerships, together with Red Bull, Porsche, IWC Schaffhausen, and extra. Outside snowboarding, she additionally fashions – and is signed with IMG Models, the largest company in the world, which describes her as “a natural fit for high-end brands, including Louis Vuitton.”
Her fluent Mandarin additionally offers her entry to an infinite market in China, the place her face is splashed throughout billboards and tv screens. She is nationally beloved and generally known as the “snow princess,” in stark distinction to the divided reception she will get again in the US.
In China, followers haven’t any qualms about her twin identification – even celebrating her two silver medals this week and defending her in opposition to any criticisms for lacking out on gold. That staunch assist takes on additional significance in a hyper-competitive nation that always solely rewards prime winners and punishes those that fall brief.
“Real champions aren’t just defined by gold medals; Eileen will always deserve all the applause,” commented one person on the Chinese microblogging platform Weibo.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV Sports Channel hailed Gu as the “pride of China” after she snagged her second silver medal on Tuesday.
In an interview with Chinese state media after competing, Gu mentioned she hoped to encourage different Chinese women on the slopes. And, talking in her mom’s native tongue, she was much more candid about what she’s confronted – and what she hopes to defend others from.
“It hasn’t become any easier, I’ve just become stronger and can endure more,” she mentioned with a rueful chortle. “I want to protect others, and hope others won’t be attacked and cyberbullied like I have.”