Eileen Gu Says She Was Assaulted, Robbed and Threatened After Choosing to Ski for China
When Eileen Gu announced in 2019 that she would represent her mother’s native China in the Winter Olympics, the San Francisco-born freestyle skier was a teenager expressing pride in both sides of her identity. What followed, she says, was physical violence, death threats, a robbery and an organized campaign to keep her out of Stanford University — a cascade of hostility that resonates with Asian American families navigating the tensions of bicultural life in the United States.
Gu, now 22, detailed these experiences in an interview with The Athletic, published as she competes in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan.
“Physically assaulted on the street,” she said. “The police were called. I’ve had death threats. I’ve had my dorm robbed.”
“I’ve gone through some things as a 22-year-old that I really think no one should ever have to endure, ever.”
An Organized Effort to Block Her Enrollment
Beyond the physical threats, Gu faced a campaign aimed directly at her education. She said she enrolled at Stanford in 2022 despite a petition launched by parents of prospective students and Chinese Americans calling for her to be kept out.
That petition — an effort to bar a young woman from a university because of her decision about which country to represent in an international sporting competition — reflects the intensity of the backlash.
Gu, who still lives in the United States, described the emotional weight of existing between two nations and their expectations.
“Sometimes I feel like I’m carrying the weight of two countries on my shoulders,” she said via The Athletic.
What She Said In 2019
Gu’s decision to compete for China was never framed as a rejection of the United States. When she first announced the move in a post shared on her Instagram account in 2019, her words focused on bridging cultures.
“I am proud of my heritage, and equally proud of my American upbringings. The opportunity to help inspire millions of young people where my mom was born, during the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help to promote the sport I love,” she wrote at the time.
She continued: “Through skiing, I hope to unite people, promote common understanding, create communication, and forge friendships between nations. If I can help to inspire one young girl to break a boundary, my wishes will have come true.”
Still Competing at the Highest Level
Despite everything she described, Gu has continued to perform on the world’s biggest athletic stage. At the 2026 Olympics, she is the lone female freeskier contesting all three freestyle events — slopestyle, big air and halfpipe. She already owns more medals across those disciplines than any freeskier in history, with five.
Her path at the Milan Games has not been smooth. After advancing to the Big Air final on Sunday night, she voiced frustration over a scheduling clash that will force her to miss one of three planned halfpipe training sessions, calling it “really unfair and difficult for me to deal with.”
She answered on the snow Monday night. On her final attempt, Gu stomped a left double-cork 1260 with a toxic grab, vaulting from sixth place into silver-medal position.
According to Forbes, she is the highest-paid athlete — male or female — competing at these Games, earning $23.1 million annually. Just $100,000 of that total comes from prize money in skiing.
Production of this article included the use of AI. It was reviewed and edited by a team of content specialists.
