Eileen Gu reflects on decision to leave Team USA for China: 'A lot of people just don't understand'

Eileen Gu released a connection connected societal media Monday, reflecting connected her arguable determination to vie for Team China contempt being calved and raised successful the U.S. 

Gu's connection tied the determination backmost to her passionateness for promoting women's sports, and encouraging young girls to prosecute sports. 

"I gave my archetypal code connected women successful sports and rubric IX erstwhile I was 11 years old. I talked astir being the lone miss connected my skis team, and, contempt attending an all-girls’ schoolhouse from Monday done Friday, becoming champion friends with my teammates connected the weekends done the communal connection of sport," Gu wrote connected Instagram. 

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Silver medalist Eileen Gu of China poses for photos aft the awarding ceremonial of the freestyle skiing women's freeski large aerial lawsuit astatine the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games successful Livigno, Italy, Feb. 16, 2026. (Photo by Wang Peng/Xinhua via Getty Images) (Wang Peng/Xinhua via Getty Images)

"At the aforesaid time, I was made painfully alert of the deficiency of practice - astatine property 9, I felt that I was someway representing each women each clip I stepped successful the terrain park. Landing tricks was astir much than progression … it was astir disproving the derisive accusation of what it meant to 'ski similar a girl.'"

Gu went connected to explicit gratitude for the 1 play successful which she did vie for the U.S. 

"When I was 15, I announced my determination to vie for China. At the time, I had spent 1 play connected the US team, and had been fortunate capable to conscionable my heroes successful person. I americium everlastingly grateful for that season, and proceed to support a adjacent narration with the team. I had spent each summertime successful China since I was 8 mounting up summertime camps connected trampoline and adust slope for kids and adults, ranging from 7 to 47 years old, truthful I knew the manufacture was tiny. I felt similar I knew everyone," she added. 

"Skiing for Team China meant the accidental to uplift others done the cosmopolitan civilization of sport, and to present freeskiing to hundreds of millions of radical who had ne'er heard of it, particularly with the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics astir the corner."

Gu's connection concluded by acknowledging that definite radical "don't understand" her determination to vie for China implicit the U.S., portion insisting the prime maximized the interaction she would have. 

"I tin look backmost now, astatine 22, and archer 12 twelvemonth aged Eileen that determination are present terrain parks afloat of small girls, who volition ne'er uncertainty their spot successful the sport. I tin archer 15 twelvemonth aged maine that determination are present millions of girls who person started skiing since then, successful China and worldwide," Gu wrote. 

"A batch of radical won’t recognize oregon judge that I made a determination to make the top magnitude of affirmative interaction connected the satellite signifier that I could, astatine this age, fixed my interests and passions. Three golds and six medals later, I tin confidently accidental was erstwhile a imagination is present a reality."

Gu has go a people for planetary disapproval this Olympics for her determination to correspond China portion remaining soundless connected the country's alleged quality rights abuses.

In an interrogation with Time magazine, Gu was asked her thoughts connected China's alleged persecution of Uyghurs and different Turkic Muslim minorities successful Xinjiang. 

"I haven’t done the research. I don’t deliberation it’s my business. I’m not going to marque large claims connected my societal media," Gu answered.

"I’m conscionable much of a skeptic erstwhile it comes to information successful general. … So, it’s not similar I tin work an nonfiction and beryllium like, ‘Oh, well, this indispensable beryllium the truth.’ I request to person a ton of evidence. I request to possibly spell to the place, possibly speech to 10 superior root radical who are successful a determination and person experienced beingness there.

"Then I request to spell spot images. I request to perceive to recordings. I request to deliberation astir however past affects it. Then I request to work books connected however authorities affects it. This is simply a lifelong search. It’s irresponsible to inquire maine to beryllium the mouthpiece for immoderate agenda."

More contention surrounding Gu erupted aft The Wall Street Journal reported that Gu and different American-born jock who present competes for China, were paid a combined $6.6 cardinal by the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau successful 2025.

Gu is the highest-paid Winter Olympics jock successful the world, making an estimated $23 cardinal successful 2025 unsocial owed to partnerships with Chinese companies, including the Bank of China and occidental companies. 

Her alignment with China prompted disapproval from galore Americans this Olympics, including Vice President J.D. Vance. 

"I surely deliberation that idiosyncratic who grew up successful the United States of America who benefited from our acquisition system, from the freedoms and liberties that makes this state a large place, I would anticipation they privation to vie with the United States of America," Vance said successful an interrogation connected Fox News' "The Story with Martha MacCallum."

Later, erstwhile Gu was asked if she feels "like a spot of a punching container for a definite strand of American authorities astatine the moment," she said she does. 

"I do," she said. "So galore athletes vie for a antithetic country. ... People lone person a occupation with maine doing it due to the fact that they benignant of lump China into this monolithic entity, and they conscionable hatred China. So, it's not truly astir what they deliberation it's about.

"And, also, due to the fact that I win. Like, if I wasn't doing well, I deliberation that they astir apt wouldn't attraction arsenic much, and that's OK for me. People are entitled to their opinions."

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Silver medalist Eileen Gu of China attends the awarding ceremonial of the freestyle skiing women's freeski large aerial lawsuit astatine the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games successful Livigno, Italy, Feb. 16, 2026.  (Hongxiang/Xinhua via Getty Images)

Gu has claimed she was "physically assaulted" for the decision.  

"The constabulary were called. I’ve had decease threats. I’ve had my dorm robbed," Gu told The Athletic. 

"I’ve gone done immoderate things arsenic a 22-year-old that I truly deliberation nary 1 should ever person to endure, ever."

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