American-born Olympic freestyle skiing gold medalist Eileen Gu is defending her decision to represent China once again at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy.
The two-time gold medalist competed for China’s Olympic team in 2022 and is defending her decision to stick with China this year. In a new interview, Gu claimed she was trying to inspire more girls in China to participate in her sport, which is less popular there. “The U.S. already has the representation. I like building my own pond,” she said, TIME magazine reported.
Gu also insisted that the millions she earns from Chinese companies don’t “cross her mind.”
TIME claimed that the skier “insists the potential to earn more representing Chinese companies didn’t cross her mind. ‘I’m glad that there’s enough money in the sport now for people to think that’s a consideration,’” Gu told the magazine.
She says she is “important” because she can discuss physics on one day and then walk the catwalk in a fashion show the next.
“I’m a full-time student who’s really athletic,” Gu exclaimed. “I can have a conversation with a physicist and stand my ground, and I can also walk a runway show the next day. I think that is pretty revolutionary, especially as a young person. Because the whole multihyphenate thing often happens in different stages in life. It’s important to show young people that you don’t have to wait until you’re older. You can do it all now.”
Gu was born in San Francisco in 2003 to a Chinese mother and an American father. Still, despite enjoying an American upbringing and the benefits of sports training in the U.S., she decided to abandon America and compete for China at her first Olympics in 2022.
There is one thing the skiing sensation has avoided talking about. She is refusing to answer questions about her citizenship. China has ruled that its Olympic athletes must forego any dual citizenship. Gu, though, has never reported whether she has given up her U.S. citizenship to compete for China, and Chinese officials have been equally tight-lipped on the topic.
She earned two golds for China at the Beijing Olympics in 2022 and has since continued winning titles in the sport, including a 20th World Cup and a fourth in slopestyle at the Laax Open in Switzerland last week.
Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games are set to kick off on February 6.
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