Being Eileen Gu: The sparkle and shadow around the American representing China in the Winter Olympics

Winter Olympics’ grittiest and most glamorous skiing star Eileen Gu (pronounced: aye-leen-guh), an American representing China, spent Valentine’s Day on a date with ‘Big Air’ at the qualifiers. The Big Air was considered one giant step for womankind in 2022, because its jaw-dropping daredevilry involved accelerating up a giant ramp that tilted at the edge, catapulting into a 20-metre orbit, spinning four-and-a-half times mid-air while rotating twice off-axis, before descending to land, floating backwards. Milano Cortina’s most recognisable star picked silver here, one among six medals from six events at the Winter Games. On February 9, she had picked silver in what is considered the most “progressive” (read: daring) events of the 2026 edition, the women’s slopestyle, where self-doubt, fear, and injury are one tiny mistake away. Celebrating to a Kendrick Lamar ditty, she then picked gold in Pipe event, and proceeded to secure most Olympic medals in free ski history. Eileen, ‘Ailing’ in Mandarin, would dedicate the medals, which came after a considerable battle with concussions and mental health troubles in 2025, to the woman who inspired her most — her Chinese grandmother Guozgen Feng, who passed away on Monday. “Because I promised her I’d be brave like her,” the 22-year-old would say. Her Chinese connection, however, is also something that has attracted less-than-positive attention, including from the US Vice-President. JD Vance told Fox News recently that he would root for “people who identify themselves as Americans”. “I certainly think that somebody who grew up in the United States of America, who benefited from our education system, from the freedoms and liberties that make this country a great place, I would hope that they want to compete with the United States of America,” Vance said. ## Why does Eileen Gu play for China? Eileen Gu first availed of her right to represent China in 2015, saying that though it was an “incredibly tough decision,” she was “proud of my heritage, and equally proud of my American upbringings.” Olympics has several athletes with dual citizenships, which allows them to switch nationalities, under Rule 41 of the Olympic Charter. Eileen’s mother was born in China and went to Peking University before heading to Stanford and to a career as a venture capitalist. Young Eileen spent many summers competing on Beijing’s slopes. Sports federations of many countries routinely look for talent that can represent them, even if foreign-born. China, however, does not allow dual citizenship, and this has led to added scrutiny around Eileen. Eileen has participated in international competitions under the stars and stripes banner, but never in the Olympics. SanFran & sangfroid Eileen Gu was born in San Francisco to an American father and a Chinese mother. Yan Gu was frazzled watching her 3-year-old skii downhill at a breakneck speed, and steered her towards freestyle, which combines snowboarding stunts and downhill skiing, not realising the higher risks. But the young Eileen loved to fly, and was ready to be coached. Around 2019, she shifted allegiance to China after splitting time in both countries. Even at age 9, Eileen had competed on Chinese slopes, while simultaneously gaining proficiency in Mandarin and keeping top grades in academics back home. Concurrently her modelling career took off, and it wasn’t uncommon to spot her at the Met Gala, or sitting flanked by Venus Williams and actor Stacy Martin at a Louis Vitton show at the Paris Fashion Week. She counted Red Bull, Cadillac and Apple Beats and Victoria’s Secret among her sponsors, even as the lead-up to Beijing Games in 2022 saw her pocket 20 endorsements, and light up billboards at Beijing in what was a breakout season for the new-age glamorous Chinese athlete. Now she has added Red Bull, Porsche, Bank of China and China Mobile to her cart, with endorsements making up for the piddly prize money that Winter sports circuit offers. Last edition of the Games, she was pitted against two other equally hardworking American borns who turned out for China — Beverly Zhu and Ashley Lin, both figure skaters. This year, American internet chatter has propped up figure skater Alysa Liu, born to Chinese-American parents who fled communism and representing the US, to create a non-existent beef between the talented youngsters. Her Chinese representation had stirred up a controversy last time around too, when French opponent Tess Ledeux was quoted as grumbling by AP: “What I know is that she got lucky and that’s only fair, she was able to train in the venues before everyone else and that probably made a difference today.” Milano Cortina proved her Beijing Winter Olympics performance wasn’t a one-off. But cyberbullying has followed her over her decision to represent China. Unbeaten and unfazed Eileen — who has a net worth of USD 50 million, a successful modelling career and is pursuing international studies at Stanford University — has maintained her composure about the controversy. “I hope people channel their effort to make this world better,” she told CGTN. “I handle all my social media myself, so I’m the one who reads those comments. Those who ski and love sport, those furiously passionate about life and with dreams, are not the ones offending me online or spreading malevolence or rumours. I’m 22. It’s part of growing up, and I know many women go through it, just that for me stakes are higher,” she explained. She is also clear about what she thinks of herself. She wowed the world when a journalist asked her, ‘Do you think before you speak?’ proceeding to get her to explain what and how she thought, and to describe her brain. Eileen didn’t go very meta, even if the poser was in those realms. She described how she was pensive, journaled a lot to analyse her thoughts, and emerged pretty proud and pleased with where she was at. “An 8-year-old Eileen would adore the now Me, and be obsessed with me,” she said in a non-egoistic manner, which spoke of her clarity and pride in her achievements, never mind the sour pusses. Earlier speaking to CGTN, Eileen had elaborated on how she viewed her place in sport. “I always thought being the best is making things look easy, where you are excellent, cruising through life and they say, of course she won another gold to add to 20 already. But vulnerability has so much more power in it. Because it empowers others that they too can undertake that journey.” Appointed the cultural bridge, an ambassador between China and the West, she was clear about her role. “I am Ai Ling. I do what I love to do, which I deem wonderful. I don’t want to be people’s idol. But their friend. So, I don’t want them to just watch and cheer for me, but embrace my lifestyle. Try skiing for themselves.” “Embracing her lifestyle” might be a tall ask, though. Elijah Teter, the athletic director at Wy’East Mountain Academy, had once told New York Post: “Eileen came up with the mentality of following guys around and doing tricks that they do. She’s used to crashing and that is tricky for women. A couple summers ago, on Mount Hood, Eileen clipped the deck and got a very bad concussion. That took her out for a week. It’s an injury that can make people fearful. Not Eileen. She gets past the fear.” Eileen simultaneously had an eye-popping SAT score of 1580, which got her into Stanford. “Eileen is incredibly smart and likes to make the skier boys feel dumb,” Teter added to the NY Post. “She uses bigger words than they do. She talks about things that go beyond skiing and hanging out. She throws chemistry stuff at them.” Shivani Naik is a senior sports journalist and Assistant Editor at The Indian Express. She is widely considered one of the leading voices in Indian Olympic sports journalism, particularly known for her deep expertise in badminton, wrestling, and basketball. Professional Profile Role: Assistant Editor and Columnist at The Indian Express. Specialization: While she covers a variety of sports, she is the primary authority on badminton for the publication. She also writes extensively about tennis, track and field, wrestling, and gymnastics. Writing Style: Her work is characterized by "technical storytelling"—breaking down the biomechanics, tactics, and psychological grit of athletes. She often provides "long reads" that explore the personal journeys of athletes beyond the podium. Key Topics & Recent Coverage (Late 2025) Shivani Naik’s recent articles (as of December 2025) focus on the evolving landscape of Indian sports as athletes prepare for the 2026 Asian Games and beyond: Indian Badminton's "Hulks": She has recently written about a new generation of Indian shuttlers characterized by power and physicality, such as Ayush Shetty and Sathish Karunakaran, marking a shift from the traditionally finesse-based Indian style. PV Sindhu’s Resurgence: A significant portion of her late-2025 work tracks PV Sindhu’s tactical shifts under new coaching, focusing on her "sparkle" and technical tweaks to break out of career slumps. The "Group of Death": In December 2025, she provided detailed tactical previews for Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty’s campaign in the BWF World Tour Finals. Tactical Deep Dives: She frequently explores technical trends, such as the rise of "backhand deception" in modern badminton and the importance of court drift management in international arenas. Legacy and History: She often revisits the careers of legends like Saina Nehwal and Syed Modi, providing historical context to current Indian successes. Notable Recent Articles BWF World Tour Finals: Satwik-Chirag have it all to do to get through proverbial Group of Death. (Dec 2025) The age of Hulks in Indian badminton is here. (Dec 2025) Treadmill, Yoganidra and building endurance: The themes that defined the resurgence of Gayatri and Treesa. (Dec 2025) Ayush Shetty beats Kodai Naraoka: Will 20-year-old be the headline act in 2026? (Nov 2025) Modern Cinderella tale – featuring An Se-young and a shoe that fits snugly. (Nov 2025) Other Sports Interests Beyond the court, Shivani is a passionate follower of South African cricket, sometimes writing emotional columns about her irrational support for the Proteas, which started because of love for Graeme Smith's dour and doughty Test playing style despite being a left-hander, and sustained over curiosity over their heartbreaking habit of losing ICC knockouts. You can follow her detailed analysis and columns on her official Indian Express profile page. ... Read More