Column: Eileen Gu, the Olympics and who gets to be American
2 years, 10 months ago

Column: Eileen Gu, the Olympics and who gets to be American

LA Times  

I’ve watched the reactions to Eileen Gu, the Chinese American athlete who decided to ski for China this Olympics, with dismay and disgust. It seems we can’t let an Olympics pass without wondering whether an Asian American athlete is truly American. “If you do those things and you can be treated better, so you do them.” Tang, Yim and the other guys I asked in the shop didn’t seem to have a problem with Gu’s decision. “If anything,” Tang added, “this whole thing has made clear that things are pretty bad between the U.S. and China.” But the problem with that situation isn’t Gu’s decision.

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History of this topic

Letting politics disturb Games insults athletes
2 years, 9 months ago

Letting politics disturb Games insults athletes

China Daily  

Chinese athlete Gu Ailing celebrates after the freestyle skiing women's freeski halfpipe final at Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou, North China's Hebei province, on Feb 18, 2022. More recently, China's Ji Lijia, Wang Pengyao and Zhu Yonggang made a clean sweep in the men's snowboard cross SB-UL big final at the Beijing Winter Paralympics by bagging the gold, silver and …

Letting politics disturb Games insults athletes
2 years, 9 months ago

Letting politics disturb Games insults athletes

China Daily  

Chinese athlete Gu Ailing celebrates after the freestyle skiing women's freeski halfpipe final at Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou, North China's Hebei province, on Feb 18, 2022. More recently, China's Ji Lijia, Wang Pengyao and Zhu Yonggang made a clean sweep in the men's snowboard cross SB-UL big final at the Beijing Winter Paralympics by bagging the gold, silver and …

Eileen Gu’s Olympic run launches her into stardom and the political fray
2 years, 10 months ago

Eileen Gu’s Olympic run launches her into stardom and the political fray

LA Times  

In one Winter Olympics sweep, Eileen Gu has solidified her place as one of the biggest sports stars in the world, not to mention one of the most politically divisive. While an answer one way or another won’t change the competition, it could tip the scales of public opinion in either of the countries Gu is trying to court, said …

Eileen Gu: Navigating two cultures, judged by both of them
2 years, 10 months ago

Eileen Gu: Navigating two cultures, judged by both of them

Associated Press  

BEIJING — She is an exceptional athlete who has already won medals in the Beijing Olympics. The frenzy to “explain” Gu’s choice reflects biases and misunderstandings in the United States about Asian American identity. “Right now Eileen is a hot commodity in China, and just treated as ‘Chinese’ by the media and many of her fans,” says Rui Ma, founder …

Eileen Gu: Navigating two cultures, judged by both of them
2 years, 10 months ago

Eileen Gu: Navigating two cultures, judged by both of them

Associated Press  

BEIJING — She is an exceptional athlete who has already won medals in the Beijing Olympics. The frenzy to “explain” Gu’s choice reflects biases and misunderstandings in the United States about Asian American identity. “What she represents is a new trend,” says Yinan He, an associate professor of international relations at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, “simply because China has …

Eileen Gu | Rising sports star
2 years, 10 months ago

Eileen Gu | Rising sports star

The Hindu  

You cannot walk far in central Beijing without coming across the now ubiquitous face of Eileen Gu, who not only adorns every other billboard but has essentially become the face of China’s ongoing Winter Olympic Games. When Gu, on February 8, spectacularly skied her way to a gold medal with a stunning freestyle performance — she not only became the …

Praise for Eileen Gu breaks Chinese social media
2 years, 10 months ago

Praise for Eileen Gu breaks Chinese social media

Associated Press  

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Two American-born athletes competing for China. As freestyle skier Eileen Gu won her gold medal in the big air competition on Tuesday, praise for the San Franciscan quite literally overwhelmed the Chinese internet. It was a stark contrast to the reception received by another U.S.-born athlete competing for China, figure skater Zhu Yi, who a few days …

US-born freeskier Gu wins Olympic big air gold for China
2 years, 10 months ago

US-born freeskier Gu wins Olympic big air gold for China

Associated Press  

BEIJING — Eileen Gu amassed an army of cynics when she spurned Team USA to represent China at the Beijing Games. “They’re never going to win the Olympics.” Gu did just that, earning the first of what she and her many fans in Beijing hope could be three gold medals by cranking out the first 1620 of her career in …

Eileen Gu: Teenage Olympic sensation wins gold and crashes Weibo
2 years, 10 months ago

Eileen Gu: Teenage Olympic sensation wins gold and crashes Weibo

CNN  

Beijing CNN — Eileen Gu fans temporarily crashed China’s leading social media platform on Tuesday, as tens of millions rushed online to celebrate the teenage freeski sensation winning her first gold medal of the Beijing Winter Olympics. Known as the “snow princess” among her Chinese fans, Gu – already a reigning world champion – has become the unofficial face of …

Eileen Gu is the poster child for a new type of Chinese athlete. But one wrong move could send her tumbling
2 years, 10 months ago

Eileen Gu is the poster child for a new type of Chinese athlete. But one wrong move could send her tumbling

CNN  

Hong Kong CNN — At this year’s Beijing Winter Olympics, the face of China’s sporting dreams is undeniably American. “Snow princess Gu Ailing set to shine at home Olympics,” read one headline in state-run media Xinhua, referring to Gu by her Chinese name. “Nice to see you take all your USA successes and accomplishments to China and not represent where …

Risk-taker Eileen Gu makes China an Olympic force on snow
2 years, 10 months ago

Risk-taker Eileen Gu makes China an Olympic force on snow

Associated Press  

ZHANGJIAKOU, China — Eileen Gu was 8 when she started teaching young wannabe daredevils how to do backflips on trampolines during her summer visits to China. “There’s something endearing and noble about her interest in promoting her sport to the world’s most populous country, and promoting herself as a strong female role model,” said Chad Carlson, who teaches about sports …

Olympics a sweet, complex homecoming for Chinese diaspora
2 years, 10 months ago

Olympics a sweet, complex homecoming for Chinese diaspora

Associated Press  

BEIJING — When Madison Chock looks outside here in the Chinese capital, the U.S. Olympic ice dancer sees glimpses of herself. “And it’s a very cool sense of belonging in a way, to just be on the same soil that your ancestors grew up on and spent their lives on.” She adds: “It’s really special, and China holds a really …

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