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A Talented Athlete Fully Leveraging Her Stardom

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A Talented Athlete Fully Leveraging Her Stardom

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Eileen rose to fame through earning two goal medals and one silver one in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games

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Eileen Gu is not only talented in sports, she is also a top student who has been accepted into Stanford University, an academic feat coveted by many.

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To some, the rigorous demands of Gu's gruelling studying, business and sporting schedule would seem unsustainable.

But the teenager believes this variety is exactly what prevents her from burning out, and sees it as a vital factor behind her success.

_"_I will continue to follow my different passions. I've always been a huge proponent of living a balanced lifestyle, so now I am really channelling my creativity and my self-expression through skiing, fashion, and academics.

"I think that just having an educational background and being able to apply that knowledge to anything, learning how you learn, learning how to perform under pressure, learning about how your mind works. I think these are all widely applicable skills, no matter what avenue you choose to apply it. There are many cross references and ways in which learning and sport are interconnected.

"Balance to me means making sure that you get enough sleep at night, making sure that you move your body every day, and that you do something for your mind. Maybe you're learning or you're nurturing the soul, something that can expand your worldview."

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Ailing (Eileen) Gu: "Outside of skiing I am a huge nerd!"

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The double Olympic freestyle skiing champion reveals why she's studying quantum physics and her belief in the importance of education, plus vital lessons learnt from her mother.

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Eileen Gu is also a fashion model, endorsing many intenational brands (such as LV and Tiffany & Co.) as well as many Chinese brands.

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Oscar Holland,CNN | Teele Rebane,CNN,Lizzy Yee

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Why Eileen Gu is luxury fashion's dream model | CNN

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Gold medal-winning skier Eileen Gu's popularity in both China and the West makes her a unique proposition for fashion and luxury brands.

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Eileen Gu is a hard-working and deeply-caring person who wishes to inspire young women to be their best in their lives.

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Eileen Gu hopes to inspire young women in China through sports | SportsCenter Asia

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Eileen Gu has not only represented China in sports but is also representing the US for its bidding for the next Winter Olympis. She is also Ambassador of Asian Society in California.

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China's Olympic freestyle skiing champion Eileen Gu announced Tuesday at the TIME100 Summit that she will serve as an ambassador for the U.S. bid to host the 2030 or 2034 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

"I think that's this beautiful example of globalism and of the capacity that we can use skiing and we can use sport and we can use winter sport to connect people," she told TIME senior sports correspondent Sean Gregory in New York City. "Salt Lake specifically wants to become a global destination for athletes everywhere to come train there and they want to incorporate 15 new countries into the Winter Olympics. I think that's something that's really beautiful and I've always stood for that and so I'm really honored to be a part of the whole thing."

In a time of great geopolitical tension between the United States and China, a prominent Chinese figure helping a U.S. cause is rare. "Having somebody with Eileen's fantastic profile worldwide, particularly with the youth, is just a dream come true for us," says Fraser Bullock, president and CEO of the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games.

The 18-year-old Gu said she doesn't regret representing China rather than the U.S. at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Gu became the first extreme sports athlete to win three medals-two of them gold-at a single Olympic Games earlier this year. But her success was accompanied by controversy surrounding her decision to ski for China in the Olympics despite being born and raised in the U.S.

Gu, whose mother is from Beijing, announced on Instagram in 2019 that she would be competing for China in the 2022 Olympics to "help inspire millions of young people" in her mother's home country and "unite people, promote common understanding, create communication, and forge friendships between nations."

While Gu has been widely embraced inside China, she has faced scrutiny for dodging questions about her nationality and whether she still holds U.S. citizenship. China does not allow dual citizenship, but there is no record of her having renounced her American citizenship.

"Every day when I start looking at my social media and I see DMs and I see hundreds of young girls sending me messages saying...'Because of you, I feel like I am better as a person.' When I read messages like that, it galvanizes me too," she said on Tuesday. "It's this positive reinforcing cycle in which it's not really an idol and a fan, it's friends moving together....And it's been this incredible opportunity worldwide. It's not just in China. It's in the U.S, it's in Canada, it's in Europe. It's in all these places where free skiing wasn't visible before and now it is. And that's the bottom line."

As for what's next for Gu, she's not stopping at Olympic domination. In addition to starting at Stanford University this fall, Gu says she's in the process of writing a book and is also interested in exploring international relations and quantum physics. "My biggest goal has always just been to leave a positive legacy and to leave the world a little bit better than the way I found it," she said.

The TIME100 Summit is the live event extension of the annual TIME100 list of the most influential people in the world. It convenes leaders from the global TIME100 community to spotlight solutions and encourage action toward a better world. This year's summit features a variety of impactful speakers across a diverse range of sectors, including politics, business, health and science, culture, and more.

Speakers for the 2022 TIME100 Summit include Apple CEO Tim Cook, producer Mindy Kaling, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation co-chair Bill Gates, filmmaker Taika Waititi, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, musician Jon Batiste, Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley, NBA champion, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Dwayne Wade, former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, #MeToo founder Tarana Burke, ACLU deputy director for transgender justice Chase Strangio, Christian Siriano founder and creative director Christian Siriano, Brother Vellies founder and creative director Aurora James, Netflix head of global TV Bela Bajaria, author and poet Cathy Park Hong, author, poet, and Mellon Foundation president Elizabeth Alexander, filmmaker Betsy West, filmmaker Julie Cohen, BioNTech SE senior vice president Dr. Katalin Karikó, Ukrayinska Pravda editor in chief Sevgil Musaieva, and TIME co-chair and Salesforce chair and co-CEO Marc Benioff.

Write to Megan McCluskey at megan.mccluskey@time.com.

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China's Eileen Gu to Serve as Ambassador for U.S. Winter Olympic Bid

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"I think that's this beautiful example of globalism and of the capacity that we can use skiing and we can use sport and we can use winter sport to connect people."

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Eileen Gu tried to inspire others by sending out the message that one can achieve eveything through hard work. However, she is from a wealthy background and received an elite education that most of her followers could not afford. Many question her authenticity of her messaege.

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Why Chinese Americans Are Talking About Eileen Gu (Published 2022)

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The critical crossfire Ms. Gu has faced has implications that go far beyond the Olympic slopes, Chinese Americans say. And some see themselves in the duality she has embraced.

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Eileen Gu is also caught between the competition between the US and China. Americans hated her for betraying the US, where she was born, raised adn trained, and representing China. Many believe her true motive is the big market in China.

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Despite what Eileen Gu says, her decision to represent China in the 2022 Winter Olympics is not about inspiring millions, promoting understanding, or forging friendships. It's about Money.

If her motives were actually about promoting common understanding, then representing a government that, as of 2020 has over 1 million Uyghurs detained in secretive "re-education" camps where they are tortured and systematically raped makes for an extremely odd choice.

Her stated motives are further called into question by her apparent dual citizenship, a luxury Gu enjoys, that the millions of people she is apparently trying to inspire are denied. Article 3 of China's Nationality Law states that " China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national."

Gu has repeatedly dodged the question of her citizenship which you can see here:

Gu's refusal to deny her US citizenship, or claim Chinese citizenship implies that she is still a US citizen who is being afforded special treatment from the Chinese government.

Most American's would not be bothered by Gu's decision to represent China if she were actually brave enough to renounce her US citizenship to become a bonafide Chinese national. But no, for Gu, representing China in the Olympics is not about lifelong commitments. She is returning to her home in the United States where she will attend college. Her choice in this Olympics is all about money.

Eileen is set to make over $50 million dollars with 20 endorsement deals in China worth 2.5 million each, all of this signed before she earned any medals.

According to the NY Post Gu has signed " with companies such as the Bank of China, China Mobile and milk company Mengniu. She is also the spokesperson for Luckin' Coffee, the Starbucks of China. According to campaignasia.com, a single endorsement deal with the ...

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Why is Eileen Gu Representing China? One word: Money

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Despite what Eileen Gu says, her decision to represent China in the 2022 Winter Olympics is not about inspiring millions, promoting understanding, or forging friendships. It's about Money. If her...

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Eileen Gu's nationality is also a matter of concern and controversy. Although she claims to be both an American and a Chinese, her Chinese fans question her patriotism for not relinquishing her American citizenship and for representing the US to bid for the next winter Olympic Games. China does not allow dual citizenship but seems to have made a special case for Eileen Gu, which speaks of the privilege she enjoys.

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A spectacular finish for American-born Eileen Gu, a freestyle skier, secured the 18-year-old her first gold medal for China this week at the Beijing Winter Olympics.

China has entered a record number of athletes in the Beijing Winter Olympics

Some of those competitors were born and trained in foreign countries

The IOC nor China have clarified how they meet China's citizenship rules

After her victory, China's General Administration of Sport sent her a congratulatory letter encouraging her to "strive for greater glory for the Party and the people" and continue to help realise "the dream of a powerful sports nation".

But Gu's victory cast the spotlight on a more uncomfortable topic related to her participation for China: her citizenship status.

Like many of the athletes representing Team China, Gu was born and trained in a foreign country but competes for China.

However, it's unclear whether she or any of the others have given up their foreign passports to comply with China's rules banning dual citizenship.

Or whether China has bent the rules to get more elite athletes on board.

Jeanne Huang, an international law expert at the University of Sydney, said it was "impossible" for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and China to provide exemptions to the citizenship requirement.

"The Olympic Charter Rule 41 is very clear, which requires the athletes to have the citizenship for representing a country," Dr Huang said.

"China's law on citizenship, it's very strict. It clearly says it does not recognise dual citizenship.

"Only those who made great contributions to China and have strong connections with the country can be granted with the citizenship."

Gu herself has remained ambiguous on the topic.

"I'm American when I'm in the US, and I'm Chinese when I'm in China," she told media in Beijing last week.

The lack of clarity on her citizenship comes at a tense time in geopolitical relations, and when Beijing is trying to demonstrate dominance on the world stage.

China has entered a record number of athletes -176 - in this year's Games.

"China is not a powerful nation in winter sports," said Sow Keat Tok, a China researcher at the University of Melbourne.

"As the host country, it looked for talent from all over the world to save its face."

China 'playing a political game'

Other athletes competing for China that have attracted scrutiny include the American-born figure skater Zhu Yi, who was criticised by Chinese netizens after she fell during her event and finished last.

The men's ice hockey team has also been in the spotlight, after China put together a team including 11 Canadians, three Americans, and one Russian player.

Team China's American-born ice hockey goalie Jeremy Smith recently told ESPN he did not renounce his US citizenship and China did not ask him to.

China automatically qualified for the ice hockey competition because it is hosting the games and the team lost to the US in their Olympic debut last week.

It's unclear how many athletes in Team China fall under this citizenship cloud.

The ABC contacted the IOC for clarification but the response did not address the specific questions, instead saying that athletes' citizenship was governed by the Olympic Charter.

That charter states competitors can hold more than one citizenship, but can only represent one country at an Olympic Games.

The Chinese Olympic Committee has also been approached for comment.

Heidi Grappendorf, an expert in sports management at Western Carolina University, said China was "playing a bit of a political game" with the Olympic rules and its own laws that don't allow dual citizenship.

"[China's] lack of cooperation and refusal to provide accurate information, along with the IOC's deafening silence and indifference on the issue is troubling," she said.

"I would posture with the already tumultuous fact that the games are being held in a country with alleged massive civil rights violations, as well as the political nature and icy relations of China and the US, that the IOC may be actively choosing to remain silent to avoid fuelling any further controversy."

Recruiting foreign-born athletes a 'common phenomenon'

China is far from the only country to enlist so-called "ringers".

US-born NBA player Matisse Thybulle only spent seven years in Australia as a child but because he maintained dual Australia-US citizenship he was able to play with the Australian basketball team at last year's Tokyo Olympic Games.

Naturalising foreign-born athletes is another tactic used by countries to boost competitiveness, said Dr Tok.

"Since the 1990s, many Chinese athletes have been naturalised in other countries," he said.

Naturalised means to make a person a legal citizen of a country they were not born in.

To attract foreign sports talent, Australia currently offers a distinguished talent visa under the Global Talent Visa Program, a permanent residency for those who "have an internationally recognised record of exceptional and outstanding achievement" in a sport.

Li Shixin, a Chinese-born Australian Olympic diver, was a star of China's diving team before moving to Australia in 2017.

He competed in the Tokyo Olympics and told the ABC he "felt the pressure of winning" for Australia.

Li believes the geopolitical tensions between China and the US have intensified the focus on Team China's American-born athletes, but competitors "need to bear such pressure".

"Winning the game is not the most important thing. Rather, presenting the best of yourself is," he added.

Beijing explicitly outlined its strategy to recruit naturalised athletes for women's figure skating and ice dance for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in its "National Development Plan for Ice and Snow Sports (2016-2025)".

Zhu Yi was the first athlete recruited under the Morning Road program.

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'Deafening silence': Did China bend its own laws to win more gold at the Winter Olympics?

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China has entered a record number of athletes in this year's Beijing Winter Olympics, but many of the competitors representing Team China were born and trained in foreign countries, like the US.

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