Eileen Gu’s second Winter Olympics isn’t unfolding with the same golden glow as her historic Beijing debut. But if her reaction to winning silver in women’s freeski big air is any indication, disappointment was never part of the equation.
Gu, the American-born skier who now represents China, delivered two composed runs under punishing conditions in Livigno, ultimately finishing second behind Canada’s Megan Oldham, with Italy’s Flora Tabanelli taking bronze. Against a deeper and more technically aggressive field than four years ago, Gu simply got beat — not outclassed.
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Her first run, a clean double cork 1440, scored a commanding 90.00. A less convincing second attempt left her vulnerable heading into the final round. Then came the moment that defined her night: a perfectly executed left-side double cork 1260 on her last run, punctuated by a fist-pump as her 89.00 score locked in silver.
It was Gu’s second medal of the Games, adding to her slopestyle silver, with the halfpipe — where she is the defending Olympic champion — still to come. From a sporting perspective, it was a result most athletes would celebrate without hesitation.
But Gu’s Olympic story has never existed purely within the boundaries of sport.
A medal weighed down by identity
Since switching allegiance from the United States to China in 2019, Gu has occupied a uniquely contested space in global sport — celebrated as a symbol of China’s winter sports ambitions while remaining deeply rooted in American life. Born and raised in San Francisco, educated at Stanford, and fluent in the cultural codes of both countries, Gu has long described herself as belonging to both worlds.
“Since I was little, I’ve always said when I’m in the U.S., I’m American, but when I’m in China, I’m Chinese,” Gu told ESPN.com in a recent interview leading up to International Women’s Day. “I preserve it by having friends and being able to communicate with people because that’s the best way to transmit culture.”
Read more: US Media Coverage Of Asian American Olympians Acts As A ‘Loyalty Test’, Study Finds
Yet that duality has increasingly been met with scepticism. China does not allow dual citizenship — a fact that continues to fuel speculation over how Gu navigates two national systems with conflicting rules. Those questions resurfaced last year when a Beijing city government document appeared to list millions in public funding allocated to Gu’s Olympic preparation, before references to her were quietly removed.
The scrutiny has only intensified in Milano.
Soft power and public backlash
Gu’s largely positive treatment in Chinese and international media stands in contrast to the criticism she faces from some American commentators, who view her decision as a rejection of national loyalty rather than a personal or cultural choice.
Charles Cooke described Gu’s choice, though, “not in the legal sense, of course . . . adjacent to treason.”
“She chose to represent a communist dictatorship over the United States,” Cooke pointed out. “That is the wrong call.”
Cooke went further, adding: “If, in the 1970s, an American had gone to Russia and done this, it would have been immediately obvious how grotesque that was. I don’t see any difference. So I hate this. I think anyone who’s patriotic should hate this.”
Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom also described Gu as a “traitor” who “was born in America, raised in America, lives in America and chose to compete against her own country for the worst human rights abuser on the planet – China.”
“You don’t get to enjoy the freedoms of US citizenship while acting as a global PR asset for the Chinese Communist Party,” he said on X.
Eileen Gu is a traitor.
She was born in America, raised in America, lives in America, and chose to compete against her own country for the worst human rights abuser on the planet, China.
She built her fame in a free country, then chose to represent an authoritarian regime while…
— Enes Kanter FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) February 10, 2026
Others argue the backlash reveals more about modern nationalism than Gu herself — particularly in an era where athletes function as both competitors and geopolitical symbols. Unlike past Olympians who quietly changed flags, Gu does so while fronting luxury fashion campaigns, appearing on magazine covers, and embodying China’s bid to globalise its cultural image.
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At just 22, Gu is one of the most commercially successful female athletes in the world, earning tens of millions through endorsements while collecting medals for China on the world’s biggest stage. Her success has turned her into a lightning rod — praised as a bridge between cultures by some, condemned as opportunistic by others.
