After becoming the most decorated Olympic freestyle skier in history this year, Eileen Gu is in no mood for looking back.
The San Francisco-born star was at the center of controversy in the recent Winter Games when she came under scrutiny for choosing to represent China, the country of her mother’s birth, instead of the United States, where she grew up.
It even led to thinly-veiled criticism from vice-president JD Vance, who without naming Gu said that athletes who benefit from an upbringing in the United States should want to represent the country.
But now, in an interview with Esquire, Gu swept aside any debate around her decision.
‘It’s old news,’ she simply said, without offering any further comment. But back in February, she appeared to mock Vance when she was asked about his words during the Olympics.
‘I’m flattered. Thanks, JD! That’s sweet,’ Gu said, before adding: ‘So many athletes compete for a different country. People only have a problem with me doing it because they kind of lump China into this monolithic entity, and they just hate China. And also, because I win. Like if I wasn’t doing well, I think that they probably wouldn’t care as much.’
Eileen Gu poses in a photoshoot with Esquire, where she opens up about what the future holds
San Francisco-born Gu, 22, is an Olympic record setter with six skiing medals to her name
But one update she gave that will excite her millions of fans around the world came on her Olympic future.
At 22 years old, she has already competed in two games and won six medals. And she insisted she has no plans to stop there.
‘I feel like I have more sport in me. I can probably do another Olympics—maybe two,’ she said.
Her profile has risen massively off the back of the recent Games in Italy – she has forged a reputation away from the sport as a model and influencer, while also studying at Stanford.
‘I don’t know what my job title is,’ she said. ‘I guess it’s just Eileen.
‘I didn’t fit into a pond, so I made my own. I’m not a big fish in a small pond, and I’m not a small fish in a big pond. I’m just the only fish in my own pond.’
Amid the intense scrutiny over her allegiance to China, Gu also endured a huge personal loss while she was competing in Italy earlier this year.
She discovered that her grandmother had passed away just minutes after clinching gold in the halfpipe. She was crying as she spoke to reporters at a press conference.
Gu has been criticized for growing up in California but representing China in her sport
‘The reason I was late is that I just found out that my grandma passed away. She was a really big part of my life growing up and someone I looked up to immensely.’
In offering a heartfelt tribute to Feng Guozhen, Gu, whose middle name is Feng, added: ‘She was so strong, she was a fighter and I think what’s so interesting is that a lot of people just cruise through life but she was a steamship.
‘This woman commanded life and she grabbed it by the reins and she made it into what she wanted it to be and she inspired me so much.
‘The last time I saw her before I came to the Olympics she was very sick so I knew that this was a possibility.
