Eileen Gu is China’s biggest medal hope at the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics – and she was the after her controversial switch from the USA
Eileen Gu carries the lofty hopes of the host nation at the Winter Olympic Games in Milano-Cortina. Gu, 22, is a leading freestyle skier – and one of the most talked about athletes heading to the Italy’s frozen north.
In addition to being China’s top medal prospect, Gu is also a social media sensation with a flourishing modelling career all while studying four intense majors at Stanford, a prestigious US university. However, her reputation is the US is far from joyful.
The young athlete’s choice to compete for China has sparked controversy, given that she was born and raised in the US and even represented the States. Born in San Francisco and having learned to ski at Lake Tahoe, Gu still resides in the USA.
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She qualifies to represent China through her mother, who was born there. The main contention surrounding her nationality switch revolves around Chinese law, which doesn’t permit nationals to hold dual citizenship.
Meanwhile, US law doesn’t allow those under 16 to renounce their citizenship. Gu was 15 when she became a naturalised Chinese citizen, but according to international law, she couldn’t become a Chinese national while still holding US citizenship.
Nevertheless, from China’s perspective, Gu was able to hold only Chinese citizenship, while maintaining dual citizenship on the global stage.
Aside from her athletic prowess, Gu has also gained fame through a successful modelling career.
The skiing prodigy regularly posts pictures from photoshoots with high-end brands like Louis Vuitton on her social media pages. Gu has also collaborated with extreme sports behemoth Red Bull.
Alongside her lucrative sponsorship agreements, Gu has secured a coveted spot at the prestigious Stanford University. Competing for the USA, Gu claimed her first World Cup gold in slopestyle at Seiser Alm in Italy.
Yet after her nationality switch to China, the prodigy began collecting silverware across slopestyle, big air, and halfpipe disciplines.
Gu’s most impressive achievements were still to follow as she dominated the 2021 World Championships, securing two golds and a bronze medal.
Her reign continued at the 2021 X Games, replicating her World Championship success whilst making history as the first female athlete to execute a forward double cork 1440.
And Gu’s crowning moment came at the last games, where she claimed gold in the big air and the halfpipe. However, her love for skiing started to wain.
She admitted ahead of the games: “I have had a somewhat tumultuous two to three years, I would say, between not spending a whole lot of time on snow – I do full-time school, which I love so much – and a number of injuries.
“I guess there was a little bit of self-doubt that made its way into my skiing consciousness. But this past season, especially leading up to the Olympics, it has been so wonderful to rediscover my love for this sport.
“Not just for competing, which I have always loved, or using my platform (to) spread the sport to more young girls.”
In Italy, she has won silver on the slopestyle, and still has golden dreams in the big air and the halfpipe.