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Ailing Eileen Gu CHN, FEBRUARY 18, 2022 – Freestyle Skiing : Women s Ski Halfpipe Flower Ceremony during the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter games, Winterspiele,Spiele, Summer games at Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou, Hebei, China. PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxJPN 181047592
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Ailing Eileen Gu CHN, FEBRUARY 18, 2022 – Freestyle Skiing : Women s Ski Halfpipe Flower Ceremony during the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter games, Winterspiele,Spiele, Summer games at Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou, Hebei, China. PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxJPN 181047592
The 2026 Winter Olympics at Milano Cortina is a venue for various sports and the anticipation that comes along with it. It has been underway from February 6 to 22 and will feature 116 medal events in 16 disciplines with 92 nations and nearly 3000 athletes competing for it. Among star athletes, there’s Eileen Gu, who is competing in the freeski event.
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Who is Eileen Gu?
Eileen Gu is an American-born freestyle skier representing China. She was born on September 3, 2003, and was raised in San Francisco by her Chinese mother, Yan Gu, who is a former ski instructor.
Eileen began skiing at age three and won her first national championship at nine. In 2019, she chose to compete for China, despite being U.S.-born. And at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, she made history as the first freestyle skier to win three medals at a single Winter Games, securing gold in Big Air and Halfpipe and silver in Slopestyle.
Similarly, her domination is also seen in the World Championships and X Games, where she has won multiple medals. Indeed, she has two World Championship titles (halfpipe and slopestyle) and a bronze medal in big air, and three X Games titles (superpipe and slopestyle) and a bronze medal in big air.
What is Eileen Gu’s Nationality? Does a free ski superstar have dual citizenship?
Eileen Gu chose to compete internationally for China, her mother Yan Gu’s home country. This decision has led to widespread public questions about whether she holds dual citizenship, as Chinese law does not permit it and would typically require her to renounce her U.S. citizenship.
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220208 Eileen Gu of China celebrates in women s freestyle skiing big air final during day 4 of the 2022 Winter Olympics on February 8, 2022 in Beijing. Photo: Maxim Thore / BILDBYRAN / kod MT / MT0309 freestyle Olympic Games, Olympische Spiele, Olympia, OS olympics winter olympics os ol olympiska spel vinter-os olympiske leker peking peking 2022 beijing 2022 beijing 2022 olympic games beijing 2022 winter olympic games peking-os beijing-ol vinter-ol 4 bbeng dag 4 jubel kina *** 220208 Eileen Gu of China celebrates in women s freestyle skiing big air final during day 4 of the 2022 Winter Olympics on February 8, 2022 in Beijing Photo Maxim Thore PICTURE BODY code MT MT0309 freestyle olympic games olympics winter olympics os ol olympic games winter os olympic games beijing peking 2022 beijing 2022 beijing 2022 olympic games beijing 2022 winter olympic games beijing os beijing ol winter ol 4 bbeng day 4 jubilee china, PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxSWExNORxAUT Copyright: MAXIMxTHORE BB220208MT027
Explaining her decision in an interview with Time Magazine, she confirmed her feelings about the citizenship questions, stating, “I don’t really see how that’s relevant.”
Why did Eileen Gu choose to represent China instead of the USA?
The Olympic champion was born and raised in San Francisco, but her decision to represent China in the Games came with a ton of questions from the public. While she has been avoiding those by not commenting much on them, she has previously expressed the reason behind making this major decision in her sporting career.
“I definitely feel as though I’m just as American as I am Chinese. I am American when I am in the US, I am Chinese when I am in China. I’ve been outspoken about my gratitude to both the US and China for making me the person I am,” Gu said at a press conference following her Olympic gold medal in freestyle skiing big air in Beijing in 2022.
Reuters
2022 Beijing Olympics – Freestyle Skiing – Women’s Freeski Big Air – Final – Run 3 – Big Air Shougang, Beijing, China – February 8, 2022. Gu Ailing Eileen of China in action. REUTERS/Phil Noble
Furthermore, during another interview with Time Magazine, she noted, “The U.S. already has the representation. I like building my own pond.” She has specifically stated that financial considerations did not drive her decision. “It’s irresponsible to ask me to be the mouthpiece for any agenda,” Gu said, confirming that this decision didn’t come following any geopolitical reason.
Eileen Gu’s ethnicity and cultural background
Raised primarily by her mother in San Francisco, Eileen’s connection to her Chinese heritage was strongly nurtured through annual summer trips to Beijing, where she attended cram school for mathematics, bonded with her maternal grandmother, and fully immersed herself in Chinese culture. This upbringing fostered a deep bilingual and bicultural fluency.
She even talked about it during an interview with the South China Morning Post, stating, “What’s beautiful about American society is its diversity. I’m fully American and look and speak the way I do. Nobody can deny I’m American. When I go to China, nobody can deny I’m Chinese because I’m fluent in the language and culture and completely identify as such. It allows me to navigate and adapt. It’s a beautiful thing.”
What religion or spiritual beliefs does Eileen Gu follow?
Eileen Gu has publicly stated that she is a Buddhist. “I recently converted to Buddhism. … I’m working on letting go of a sense of self … rather than fear of failure,” the Olympic champion said.
So, with the Winter Olympics underway, only time will tell how many medals Gu will take home this time.