Eileen Gu has addressed comments from JD Vance after he said he intended to support only Team USA athletes, even though Gu is an American citizen.
Gu has drawn major attention during the Winter Olympics, adding to her extraordinary résumé by becoming the most decorated freeskier in history. At just 22, she now has six Olympic medals.
Although she was born and grew up in San Francisco, California, Gu competed for China at Milano-Cortina 2026 because her mother is Chinese.
Her decision to represent China rather than Team USA has continued to spark debate. Earlier this month, Fox News host Martha MacCallum asked Vice President JD Vance about the situation, pressing him on whether Gu’s status should be reconsidered.
“Look, I’ve no idea what her ‘status’ should be,” he replied. “I think that’s ultimately up to the Olympics committee. I won’t pretend to wade into that.”
Vance went on to say: “I certainly think that somebody who grew up in the United States of America, who benefitted from our education system, from the freedoms and liberties that make this country a great place… I would hope that they would want to compete with the United States of America.
“So I’m going to root for American athletes, and I think part of that is people who identify themselves as Americans. That is who I’m rooting for at this Olympics.”
The Winter Olympics concluded on Sunday (February 22), with Team USA finishing with 33 medals overall.
China ended the Games with 15 medals, including three earned by Gu.
Gu has since reacted to Vance’s remarks, signaling that she isn’t particularly bothered by the criticism.
She said, per Fortune: “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. So it’s not really about what they think it’s about.”
Gu added: “Like, if I wasn’t doing well, I think that they probably wouldn’t care as much, and that’s OK for me.”
Despite Vance’s stance, Gu still received support from some Team USA athletes, including figure skater Alyssa Liu.
Liu, 20, was also born in the United States and has a Chinese father, but she chose to compete for the US rather than China.
“Eileen is doing amazing. I’ve actually known her since I was a kid,” Liu said of her fellow Olympian Gu. “I’m rooting for her always.”