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United States Eileen Gu sends her critics blunt message as Winter Olympics 'snow princess' wins gold
Out of a clear blue sky, Eileen Gu dropped into these Winter Olympics like a gift from the sporting gods.
The draw was Kirsty Muir, Team GB’s youngest competitor, making her Games debut at a disused steelworks on the western edge of Beijing.
But while the 17-year old did deliver a fearless fifth-place finish in freeski big air, it was the ‘snow princess’ who stole the show.
Not just with the first iconic moment of these Olympics - a four-and-a-half-rotation ‘1620’ which catapulted her from fourth to first at the death.
But with her poise in dealing with the pressure that comes with switching allegiance from America, the land of her birth, to China.
At the same time as Chinese social media platform Weibo crashed under the strain of her 2.6 million followers celebrating, ‘Eileen Gu traitor’ was trending in the US.
Have Your Say! What do you make of Eileen Gu's gold-medal performance? Join the debate here.
“Here’s the thing,” she said, confronting the matter head-on. “I’m not trying to keep everyone happy.
"I’m an 18-year old out here living my best life. My mission is to use sport as a force for unity, not as a divisive force.
“It doesn’t have to be related to nationality. It does not need to be used to divide.”
Gu is on a fast track to becoming a global superstar. Off the snow she models internationally and has companies lining up to sponsor her both in the US and China.
But this being a time of extreme geopolitical tension between these two superpowers, she has one hell of a tightrope to walk.
She would not answer directly whether she is still a US citizen, replying only: “I am American when I’m in the US, Chinese when I’m in China.
“I’m fluent in Mandarin and in English, culturally fluent in both, and I don’t feel I’m taking advantage of one over the other."
Gu is the Beijing poster girl, and her switch from the US is therefore a powerful propaganda weapon for the Chinese at a time when they stand accused of human rights abuses which have led to a US-led diplomatic boycott.
She countered: “I know my reasons for making the decisions I do and if you don’t believe that it’s your problem.
“I’m not going to waste my time trying to placate people. If people don’t believe me and like me then that is their loss. They are never going to win the Olympics.”
Given this tour de force from one so young, it should perhaps be no surprise Muir also performed with distinction.
The Aberdeen starlet arrived here hailed as a ‘once in a generation’ talent and lived up to the billing.
For her, becoming an Olympian is not enough, she wants to win and showed it with an opening ‘1260’ that catapulted her to the top of the scoreboard.
With Gu around that might have to wait but she will back for the slopestyle this weekend to give it another go.
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