Gold medal skier Gu Ailing, a San Francisco-born 18-year-old Stanford university student, has attracted both praise and criticism as she represents China rather than the US at the Winter Olympics in Beijing. Also known as Eileen Feng Gu,
American athletes of Chinese descent at the Games are targets of patriotic and even nationalistic sentiment from both countries: sometimes adoring, sometimes hostile.
It would be hard to miss Eileen Gu (谷愛凌) at the Beijing Olympics. After clinching a gold medal in freestyle skiing big air and a silver in slopestyle, the 18-year-old has become a superstar in China, charming the country with her outstanding athleticism, model-like looks and “correct” choice of political affiliation.
Gu was born a US citizen to an American father and a Chinese immigrant mother. However, her mother had a huge influence on her upbringing, with Gu wholeheartedly embracing her Chinese identity.
Having received her training in the US, Gu represented it in the Freestyle Ski World Cup in