Eileen Gu is reacting to Vice President JD Vance‘s criticism of her.
If you didn’t know, the 22-year-old skier was born and raised in San Francisco, Calif, but is representing China – where her mother is from – at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Vance criticized Eileen, who is the most decorated female freestyle skier in Olympic history, for her decision to represent China internationally, telling Fox News that he is only rooting for “American athletes.”
Keep reading to find out more…“I certainly think that somebody who grew up in the United Sates of America, who benefited from our education system, from the freedoms and liberties that make this country a great place, I would hope they want to compete with the United States of America,” Vance said. “So, I’m going to root for American athletes, and I think part of that is people who identify themselves as Americans. That’s who I’m rooting for this Olympics.”
Following Vance‘s comments, Eileen responded, telling USA Today, “I’m flattered. Thanks, JD! That’s sweet,” adding that she feels “like a bit of a punching bag for a certain strand of American politics at the moment.”
“So many athletes compete for a different country… people only have a problem with me doing it because they kind of lump China into this monolithic entity, and they just hate China,” the athlete continued. “So it’s not really about what they think it’s about.”
Eileen added, “And also, because I win. Like if I wasn’t doing well, I think that they probably wouldn’t care as much, and that’s OK for me.”
If you didn’t know, Eileen first opted to represent China prior to competing at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
In another new interview, Eileen explained why she decided to compete with Team China instead of Team USA at the Olympics.
“In the U.S. growing up, I had so many idols to look up to,” Eileen told The Athletic. “But in China, I feel like there are a lot fewer of those. I’d have a much greater impact in China than in the U.S., and that’s ultimately why I made my decision.”
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