She's Not the Only One

The amount of vitriol I've seen directed towards Eileen Gu, the San Francisco-born freestyle skier who competes for China, over the past two weeks has been over-the-top ridiculous.  I don't remember it being this bad four years ago, when the Winter Olympics were actually in China!  Gu has been attacked from all angles, and she's even been called a "traitor" because she chose to compete for China instead of the United States (since, apparently, anyone who's eligible to compete for the United States is required to).

Meanwhile, do any of these people know why she opted to represent China?  Or that her mother is a first-generation Chinese immigrant?  Or that she speaks fluent Mandarin and conducts interviews in the language?  Or that she goes to China every year?  More importantly, would they even care which country she represents if she wasn't good and high-profile?  Frankly, it's such an entitled mindset to think that she "should" be winning medals for the U.S. simply because she's American.

Well, I've got news for you. Eileen Gu isn't the first American-born athlete to represent another country at the Olympics...and she won't be the last.  She isn't even the only American-born Olympian representing another country in Milan Cortina!  And each of those athletes has their individual reasons for their decision.  Who are we to criticize them for it?

Sarah Schleper skied for the U.S. at four Winter Olympics from 1998-2010.  Her husband is Mexican.  This is her third Olympics representing Mexico.  (Her son was also on the Mexican alpine ski team this year, making them the first mother & son ever to compete at the same Winter Olympics.) 

Snowboarder Vic Wild competed for the United States at the 2010 Olympics.  Then the U.S. shut down its alpine snowboarding program, so he married his Russian girlfriend (a fellow snowboarder) and gained Russian citizenship.  He won two gold medals for the home team in Sochi, something that wouldn't have been possible had he not switched nationalities.

Wild's circumstance is not an unusual one.  There are so many American athletes who've chosen to represent other nations.  For various reasons.  And nobody can begrudge them for taking advantage of those opportunities when they're presented.  In fact, many of those athletes take advantage of those opportunities because they're presented.  It's what they feel is in the best interest of their career and, not to mention, their pathway to the Olympics.

Making the U.S. National Team is extremely difficult.  If athletes have dual citizenship or another pathway to represent another country, can you blame them for taking it?  Representing another nation doesn't just make it easier to qualify for the Olympics (which is the ultimate goal), it can lead to things like increased funding, national team support, etc.  Or, like Vic Wild, it might give them an opportunity that they otherwise might not have at all.

One of the perks of hosting the Olympics is that you automatically qualify a team in every team sport...even if your National Team is low-ranked or borderline non-existent.  The South Korean hockey team is such an example.  So, when South Korea hosted in 2018, the team was comprised mainly of Canadians who played in Korea.  Ditto with the Chinese hockey team (that featured the son of Hall of Famer Chris Chelios) in 2022.  Were they "traitors" because they played for the two Asian hosts instead of their native land?

And, like I said, it isn't just Americans who compete for other nations.  Kenyan distance runners represent so many different countries on the world stage that I can't even keep track anymore!  At the World Baseball Classic next month, we'll see all kinds of loose representations for players on nearly all 20 teams.  There are plenty of other examples in Milan Cortina, too.  Where's the uproar about them?

Lucas Pinheiro Braaten, who was born in Oslo to a Norwegian father and Brazilian mother, represented Norway on the World Cup circuit until 2023.  In 2024, he began competing for Brazil instead.  Last week, he made history when he won the giant slalom.  It wasn't just Brazil's first-ever Winter Olympic gold medal.  It was the first Winter Olympic medal for any South American country!  Or, using the Eileen Gu critics' logic, should that medal have been Norway's since that's where he was born?

Another alpine skier, Lara Colturi, is the daughter of Italian Olympic champion Daniela Ceccarelli.  Her father is also Italian.  Except she doesn't compete for Italy.  She competes for Albania.  Why?  Because her mother has worked for the Albanian Ski Federation since 2020.  Sounds like a pretty reasonable explanation why she chose to ski for Albania rather than Italy.

There are plenty of other examples.  Laurence Fournier Beaudry (who, sidebar, looks exactly like Rachel Zegler) was part of the French team that won the gold medal in ice dancing.  She's from Montreal and finished eighth at the 2022 Olympics representing Canada.  And she's just one of the figure skaters who competed in Milan for a country other than where they were born and/or changed allegiances.  As long as it's allowed and all of the rules are followed, there's nothing wrong with it.

Athletes changing nations is nothing new.  Nor is it going to change anytime soon.  It happens in pretty much every sport, for a variety of reasons.  And, whatever the reason, that's the athlete's choice.  If that's what they feel is in their best interest or gives them the best opportunity, who are we to begrudge them?  Besides, who's to say that these critics wouldn't make the exact same decision if they were in that situation?

So, long story short, I have absolutely no issue with Eileen Gu representing her mother's homeland of China.  Nor do I have an issue with any other athlete deciding to represent whichever country they choose.  Because it's their decision to make.  Not mine.  It certainly doesn't make them a "traitor."  It makes them an Olympian.  For a country that's proud to have them.