The reason Eileen Gu competes for China, not U.S., has great meaning to skiing star

Eileen Gu has a busy Olympics, which has pushed her right into the spotlight.

She already has a silver medal in the slopestyle skiing event. On Monday, she'll compete in the skiing big air final, the event in which she's the reigning gold medalist. And she still has the skiing halfpipe competition to come.

She's already one of the most well-known athletes in these Games, with huge sponsorship deals and social media following as well as an impressive athletic history.

Gu also brings plenty of dialogue along with her. She was born in the United States but represents China in athletic competition.

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Why does Eileen Gu compete for China?

Gu's reasoning comes down to representation.

Gu made her decision to compete for China when she was 15 years old in 2022, and she did it with a lot more than herself in mind.

“The U.S. already has the representation,” Gu has said in the past about popularity of women's skiiers in the United States. “I like building my own pond.”

Gu had actually already represented the U.S. in three World Cup events before making the switch, but she was allowed to do so before the 2022 Olympics.

She wrote at the time that it was a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help to promote the sport I love."

Gu then grabbed all the spotlight by claiming the gold medal in big air on her skis by landing a double cork 1620.

“My whole thing was, it’s all upside,” Gu said recently as she looked back on that. “Because if I land, I will win the Olympics. If I don’t land, then I get to make history as the first person to ever try this trick in such a situation. It’s a decision that I would be super proud of and live with forever.”

Gu has certainly done everything she can to make her decision pay off. She's a multi-time Olympic medalist and not done yet.

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