Alysa Liu vs Eileen Gu — How two Chinese American stars wound up on opposite sides of an Olympic proxy war

Just minutes aft Alysa Liu won a historical Olympic fig skating golden for the U.S., her communicative arsenic the kid of a Chinese American migrant who fled communism dispersed similar wildfire crossed societal media. 

Almost immediately, that sermon evolved, successful galore circles, into comparisons against different Chinese American superstar who has dominated headlines successful Milan Cortina — American-born Team China skier Eileen Gu.

"Alysa Liu > Eileen Gu" wrote Barstool Sports laminitis Dave Portnoy successful a station connected X, penning earlier, "The triumph of America implicit China!" 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Other pundits were speedy to constituent retired the opposition betwixt Liu's story, a communicative of American loyalty among an immigrant's child, and Gu, who chose to vie for Team China erstwhile she was 15 years old, contempt surviving her beingness successful California. 

"Eileen Gu is unlucky that Alysa Liu’s patriotism stands successful stark opposition to Gu’s betrayal of her country," American lawyer and governmental expert Gordon Chang told Fox News Digital.

Just however different, and however similar, are the 2 Olympic superstars?

Liu and Gu were each calved to azygous parents who near China. They some grew up successful the Bay Area

Liu's father, Arthur Liu, was determination successful Tiananmen Square successful the outpouring and summertime of 1989. 

The Tiananmen Square protests, besides known arsenic the Tiananmen Square massacre, proved to beryllium a life-changing  moment for Arthur, and a history-changing infinitesimal for everyone else. Hundreds of Chinese students and residents successful the superior metropolis of Beijing were killed by the country's subject for protesting the communist government. 

A Beijing demonstrator blocks the way of a vessel convoy on the Avenue of Eternal Peace adjacent Tiananmen Square. For weeks, radical person been protesting for state of code and of property from the Chinese government.  (Archive Photos/Getty Images)

Arthur was aboriginal summoned to study to the Office of Chinese Communist Party Youth League for his beingness that day. 

"I refused to supply them immoderate much names of students who had participated successful the enactment of the demonstrations. … I was going to instrumentality afloat work for everything that had happened since astatine 1 clip I was elected the President of the Guangzhou Autonomous Student Union of Universities," Arthur Liu told USA Today. 

"Going to situation for maine was a substance of time." 

He had to sneak onto a vessel to Hong Kong, risking up to 3 years successful situation oregon a labour camp. The vessel took an extended detour to debar subject detection. He aboriginal fled to California from there. 

"His persistence, and he's brave too," Alysa told Fox News Digital of her begetter during a roundtable interrogation astatine the USOPC media acme successful October. "We each knew astir it, helium had immoderate stories for us, but we besides recovered retired from our different relatives, they would archer america arsenic well."

Meanwhile, successful the 1980s, Gu's mother, Yan Gu, was a pupil astatine Peking University studying chemistry and biochemistry, according to The New York Times. She came to the United States to gain a master’s degree, yet earning it from Stanford. 

At property 40, Yan gave commencement to Eileen, and raised her arsenic a azygous parent, per Olympics.com. Not overmuch is known astir Gu's father. Eileen has not publically commented connected him, and declined questions astir him to The New York Times.

And Liu doesn't adjacent cognize her ain mother. She and Arthur's 4 different children were conceived utilizing an anonymous ovum donor and a gestational surrogate. 

As a lawyer, Arthur Liu raised Alysa and her siblings successful Oakland. Yan raised Eileen Gu close crossed the bay successful San Francisco.

Alysa began skating astatine property 5 erstwhile her begetter brought her to the Oakland Ice Center. She aboriginal trained nether Laura Lipetsky, a erstwhile fig skater who had trained nether fig skating Hall of Fame manager Frank Carroll.

Meanwhile, Gu excelled arsenic a pupil and arsenic an jock passim her adolescence. She famously scored 1580 retired of 1600 connected her SAT exams. Every summer, she went backmost to China for a fewer weeks to get other mathematics practice, according to The Guardian. 

Gu competed successful her archetypal Freestyle Ski World Cup successful January 2019. At that time, she was representing the U.S. 

But it was the past clip Gu would correspond the U.S. 

China embarked connected a ngo to enlistee overseas athletes with Chinese lineage, particularly successful America

It was called the Chinese naturalization project. 

The task accelerated astir 2018–2022, aimed astatine recruiting foreign-born athletes, chiefly with Chinese heritage, to boost competitiveness, notably for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and soccer, per The China Project. 

Both Gu and Liu were apical recruiting targets.

Gu traded successful her red, achromatic and bluish for reddish and gold. Just months aft competing successful her archetypal Freestyle Ski World Cup for the U.S. successful January 2019, she competed for China for the archetypal clip successful June of that twelvemonth aft requesting a alteration of federation with the International Ski Federation.

In an announcement connected Instagram, she said she made the determination "to assistance animate millions of young people" successful China and "to unite people, beforehand communal understanding, make communication, and forge friendships betwixt nations."

Seven years aft the decision, Gu is the highest-paid Winter Olympic jock successful the world, making an estimated $23 cardinal successful 2025 unsocial amid partnerships with Chinese companies, including the Bank of China, and occidental companies. 

Eileen Gu (CHN) celebrates the golden medal aft competing successful the Freestyle Skiing Women's Halfpipe Final during the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games astatine Genting Snow Park. (Danielle Parhizkaran/USA TODAY Sports)

The Wall Street Journal reported past week that Gu and Zhu Yi, a chap American-born fig skater who present competes for China, were paid a combined $6.6 cardinal by the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau successful 2025 for "striving for fantabulous results successful qualifying for the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics." In all, the 2 were reportedly paid astir $14 cardinal implicit the past 3 years.

The Lius remained loyal to Team USA. 

Arthur was reportedly "not unfastened to persuasion," to having Alysa vie for China, according to The Economist.

Both athletes competed astatine the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Gu representing China and Liu representing the U.S. 

Gu won 2 golden medals and 1 metallic successful freeskiing, and went location to California arsenic a caller planetary household sanction for her success. 

Liu finished successful sixth spot successful the women's singles fig skating, and past went into a impermanent aboriginal retirement. 

Gu has refused to reply questions astir the Chinese government's actions. Liu has been straight targeted by Chinese authorities actions

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 primary-source 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 hunt …

"It’s irresponsible to inquire maine to beryllium the mouthpiece for immoderate agenda."

Liu connected the different hand, amid her father's past and her ain refusal to vie for China, recovered themselves successful the crosshairs of China's authorities up of the 2022 Beijing Games. 

Just anterior to her quality successful the 2022 Beijing games, she and her begetter were the targets of a spying cognition by the Chinese government.

US OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST ALYSA LIU WAS ONCE TARGETED BY CHINESE SPIES

Liu called the acquisition "a small spot freaky and exciting."

"You cognize what I mean? It's so… unbelievable. You cognize what I mean like, that's crazy," Liu antecedently told Fox News Digital astatine a roundtable interrogation astatine the USOPC Media Summit successful October.

"Like, ideate uncovering that retired astatine specified a young age, I mean, similar In a weird way, I was like, 'Am I similar successful immoderate prank show?' Like, is this satellite existent similar I indispensable beryllium immoderate movie character. But, I mean, it was similar it made consciousness to me, you know, from similar everything my dada did backmost successful his activistic days."

One of the 5 men who were charged Wednesday with spying connected Chinese dissidents surviving successful the U.S., Matthew Ziburis, allegedly contacted Arthur successful November 2021, impersonating a USOPC authoritative and asking for his and Liu's passport numbers, The Associated Press reported astatine the time. 

Ziburis allegedly traveled to California’s Bay Area, wherever the Liu household lived, to surveil them and effort to coax backstage accusation from the household that helium could past proviso to the Chinese government.

Her begetter told The Associated Press astatine the time, "They are astir apt conscionable trying to intimidate us, to... successful a mode endanger america not to accidental anything, to origin occupation to them and accidental thing governmental oregon related to quality rights violations successful China... I had concerns astir her safety. The U.S. authorities did a bully occupation protecting her."

The U.S. Department of Justice and FBI came to Liu's aid. 

FBI agent, Alysa Liu, Chines military (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images, Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images, PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

She archetypal spoke with the FBI cause who would support her household astatine magnitude astatine a section Japanese restaurant.

"I went similar to devour meal with her a mates times I mostly talk, due to the fact that like, I'm besides like, truly funny successful what she does, similar guys like, that's truthful chill to maine like, I don't know, conscionable similar gathering with an FBI cause similar that's brainsick work," she said. 

"You know, and I mean, similar not galore radical tin bash that. So I, you know, I person truthful galore questions and similar I've met with, similar a scientist there, not for maine similar because, I was like, truthful funny astir similar what she does."

Liu added the FBI made her consciousness "safe," passim the situation.

The spy cognition didn't scare Liu disconnected from competing successful Beijing. But she had heightened information assurances from the U.S. State Department and USOPC, arsenic astatine slightest 2 radical escorted her astatine each times erstwhile she was there. 

She went into status soon aft the Beijing Games ended. 

"She became truly unhappy," Arthur Liu told USA Today astir wherefore she retired. "She avoided the crystal rink astatine each costs. She's traumatized. She was conscionable traumatized. She was suffering from PTSD and she wouldn't spell adjacent the crystal rink."

But Liu made her instrumentality the athletics conscionable 2 years aboriginal successful 2024, and by March 2025, she was already making past for Team USA becoming the archetypal American the World Figure Skating Championships successful 19 years. 

Her comeback received a storybook ending with Thursday's golden medal performance. 

Liu hasn't ruled retired seeing her life, and acquisition successful an planetary spying incident, adapted into a movie.

Still, she has immoderate preferences if her communicative makes it onto the large screen.

"They gotta marque maine look similar ace chill leader oregon something. And just, I can't conscionable beryllium the kid that got spied connected and did thing astir it," she said. "But honestly, I would conscionable person the main absorption beryllium similar my dad's story, due to the fact that similar his communicative is truthful chill and similar besides conscionable similar everything that lone happened due to the fact that of what helium did, so, similar I consciousness similar we got to commencement with the roots."

Alysa Liu of the United States arrives to vie during the women's fig skating escaped programme astatine the 2026 Winter Olympics, successful Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026.  (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

All eyes crook to Gu, who has faced a tempest of planetary contention successful Italy, arsenic societal media rages with politically charged comparisons to Liu

With Liu earning golden connected Thursday, Gu is present the past 1 betwixt the 2 chasing a golden medal. Liu's triumph connected Thursday has ensured Gu volition skis upon the backdrop of viral, and often unflattering, comparisons to Liu by American patriots connected societal media. 

Chang told Fox News Digital that Gu "should number her fortunate stars she was calved an American. A generous America allowed her to vie for China astatine the Beijing Olympics 4 years agone and past fto her backmost into the country. If the reverse were existent and she had been calved successful China, the Chinese authorities would not person been truthful indulgent."

Gu volition vie successful the women's freestyle skiing halfpipe last connected Thursday aft lone winning silvers successful her archetypal 2 events. She had to flooded a near-disastrous clang during her archetypal tally of the qualifying circular connected Thursday to get there.

It volition beryllium the climax of an Olympics defined by immense planetary disapproval for Gu. 

She brought backlash upon herself aboriginal successful the games erstwhile she responded to a question astir President Donald Trump criticizing U.S. Olympian Hunter Hess for being captious of the existent authorities of America.

"I’m atrocious that the header that is eclipsing the Olympics has to beryllium thing truthful unrelated to the tone of the Games. It truly runs contrary to everything the Olympics should be," Gu told reporters Monday.

"The full constituent of athletics is to bring radical together. … One of the precise fewer communal languages, that of the quality body, that of the quality spirit, the competitory spirit, the capableness to interruption not lone records, but particularly successful our sport, virtually the quality limit. How fantastic is that?"

Gu besides claimed she had been "caught successful the crossfire" herself. 

"As idiosyncratic who has got caught successful the crossfire before, I consciousness atrocious for the athletes," Gu said. "I anticipation that they tin skis to their precise best."

Vice President JD Vance weighed successful connected the contention surrounding Gu successful an interrogation Tuesday connected Fox News' "The Story With Martha MacCallum."

"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.

When 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."

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Gu herself has claimed that 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."

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports sum connected X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.