Photo: Sean M. Haffey/Getty
Eileen Gu caught the attention ofOlympicsfans for her freestyle feats on the slopes, and now the American-born skier has sparked conversation because of her choice to compete for China in the2022 Winter Olympics.
Gu, 18, was born and raised in the U.S. to a Chinese mother and American father. She first decided to compete for China ahead of the 2015 World Cup, according toCNN, and went into more detail on the “incredibly tough decision” in 2019.
She concluded her post with a three emojis — an American flag, a Chinese flag and a heart — after writing, “Through skiing, I hope to unite people, promote common understanding, create communication, and forge friendships between nations. If I can help to inspire one young girl to break a boundary, my wishes will have come true.”
Liu Lu/VCG via Getty Images)
The athlete, who plans on attending Stanford University next fall, explained her dual identity while speaking to theOlympic Channelat the Lausanne 2020 Youth Winter Olympics, saying, “When I’m in China, I’m Chinese. When I’m in the US, I’m American,” according toCNN.
Though Olympic rules allow athletes with dual citizenship to compete for a country in which they do not currently reside, The People’s Republic of China does not recognize dual citizenship.
Gu homed in on the idea of “‘code switching’ between different identities and roles” while guest-editing the latest issue ofVogueChina’s Vogue+.
“I wanted to explore and showcase the inherently malleable nature of adolescent identities,” she explained onInstagramlast month, adding, “I display different facets of myself (athlete, model, student, Chinese, American, teenager, writer, public persona, etc) in different environments.”
Although she has avoided direct questions about her citizenship, Gu did provide more insight on her motivation to compete for China in anInstagrampost on Thursday.
After learning to ski as a child in America, she “wanted to encourage Chinese skiers the same way my American role models inspired me,” she wrote.
Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
Gu is one of many athletes at this year’s Winter Olympics competing for countries in which they were not born.
Salt Lake City snowboarder Louie Vito, 33, chose to compete for Italy.
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According toCNN, Yi told reporters after Sunday’s competition: “I guess I felt a lot of pressure because I know everybody in China was pretty surprised with the selection for ladies' singles, and I just really wanted to show them what I was able to do.”
source: people.com
