Eileen Gu: Team China’s California girl at the Olympics

I LOVE THE OLYMPICS. LOVE ‘EM.

BUT WHAT I DON’T LOVE IS WHEN ATHLETES LIVE AND TRAIN IN AMERICA, THEN DROP THE RED WHITE AND BLUE AS SOON AS THE OLYMPICS ROLL AROUND.

SO I DID A NEWS PIECE ON IT. WHY ATHLETES ARE ALLOWED TO… AND THE PROS AND CONS OF TRADING TEAMS.  

IT HAPPENS  A LOT.  BUT THE POSTER CHILD FOR THESE GAMES HAS BEEN FIRST TIME OLYMPIAN EILEEN GU. HER MOM IS CHINESE, HER DAD IS AMERICAN. SHE’S A CALIFORNIA GIRL-  BORN AND RAISED IN SAN FRANCISCO AND IS PREPARING TO ATTEND STANFORD. SHE DECIDED TO REPRESENT TEAM CHINA.

Journalist: “it’s unclear if you still have your American citizenship or if you’ll live in china from now on”

Eileen Gu: “So I definitely feel as though I am just as American as I am Chinese. I am American when I am in the U.S., and I am Chinese when I am in China. And I have been very outspoken about my gratitude to both the U.S. and China for making me the person who I am.”

SHE ALREADY BROKE THE CHINESE INTERNET….CRASHING THEIR MAIN SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM AFTER WINNING GOLD. THEY LOVE HER.  

HERE IN AMERICA, THE ONLINE TROLLS ARE OUT IN FULL FORCE. CALLING HER A TRAITOR, A JERK, A SELL OUT. IT’S BEEN PRETTY NASTY EVEN by TWITTER STANDARDS.

WHAT I FOUND INTERESTING IS THAT THIS IS KIND OF OLD NEWS. SHE ACTUALLY MADE THE DECISION TO COMPETE FOR CHINA IN 2019.

BUT THE OLYMPICS HAVE REALLY HIGHLIGHTED US – CHINA TENSIONS… AMERICA’S DIPLOMATIC BOYCOTT OF THE GAMES, CHINA’S HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES OF THE UIGHURS, AND QUESTIONS OVER THE SAFETY OF TENNIS PLAYER PENG SHUAI.

NOW, SHOULD THESE INTERNATIONAL TENSIONS REST ON THE SHOULDERS OF A TEENAGER? PROBABLY NOT. BUT IT’S REIGNITED THE DEBATE OVER ATHLETES CHANGING COUNTRIES DURING THE OLYMPICS.  

EILEEN GU IS COMPETING IN 3 EVENTS AT THE WINTER GAMES, SO YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE LAST OF HER INCREDIBLE SKILLS ON THE SLOPES.

AND YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE LAST OF ME EITHER….KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR MY PIECE ON COUNTRY SWAPPING AT THE OLYMPICS.