Eileen Gu serves as grand marshal for Chinese New Year parade in San Francisco

Eileen Gu, the American-born Olympic skier who chose to correspond Team China astatine the Winter Games, was honored astatine Chinese New Year celebrations successful San Francisco connected Saturday.

Gu was the expansive marshal for the parade and expressed successful an interrogation earlier the festivities what the grant meant to her.

"This is simply a peculiar happening to beryllium Grand Marshal, and beryllium portion of it," she told KGO-TV.

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Olympic golden medalist and expansive marhsal Eileen Gu waves during the Chinese New Year Parade successful San Francisco, Saturday, March 7, 2026.  (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Gu recalled attending the parade with her household erstwhile she was younger and the times her parent and grandma would navigator successful the kitchen.

The three-time golden medalist told the presumption she was focusing connected making a bigger interaction astir the world.

"My biggest extremity has ever been making the top magnitude of affirmative interaction connected the planetary signifier that I perchance can," she said. "At this infinitesimal successful time, that takes the signifier of sport, fashion, and education."

Gu came nether occurrence during the Olympics, receiving disapproval for bucking the accidental of competing for Team USA and representing the federation she was calved in.

She reflected connected the determination past week.

"I gave my archetypal code connected women successful sports and rubric IX erstwhile I was 11 years old. I talked astir being the lone miss connected my skis team, and, contempt attending an all-girls’ schoolhouse from Monday done Friday, becoming champion friends with my teammates connected the weekends done the communal connection of sport," Gu wrote connected Instagram.

Eileen Gu waves astatine the assemblage during the Chinese New Year Parade successful San Francisco, Saturday, March 7, 2026.  (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Gu went connected to explicit gratitude for the 1 play successful which she did vie for the U.S.

"When I was 15, I announced my determination to compete for China. At the time, I had spent 1 play connected the US team, and had been fortunate capable to conscionable my heroes successful person. I americium everlastingly grateful for that season, and proceed to support a adjacent narration with the team. I had spent each summertime successful China since I was 8 mounting up summertime camps connected trampoline and adust slope for kids and adults, ranging from 7 to 47 years old, truthful I knew the manufacture was tiny. I felt similar I knew everyone," she added. 

"Skiing for Team China meant the accidental to uplift others done the cosmopolitan civilization of sport, and to present freeskiing to hundreds of millions of radical who had ne'er heard of it, particularly with the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics astir the corner."

Gu's connection concluded by acknowledging that definite radical "don't understand" her determination to vie for China implicit the U.S., portion insisting the prime maximized the interaction she would have. 

"I tin look backmost now, astatine 22, and archer 12 twelvemonth aged Eileen that determination are present terrain parks afloat of small girls, who volition ne'er uncertainty their spot successful the sport. I tin archer 15 twelvemonth aged maine that determination are present millions of girls who person started skiing since then, successful China and worldwide," Gu wrote.

Gold medalist Ailing Eileen Gu of the People's Republic of China celebrates during medal ceremonial for the women's skiing halfpipe during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games astatine Livigno Snow Park connected Feb. 22, 2026. (Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images)

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"A batch of radical won’t recognize oregon judge that I made a determination to make the top magnitude of affirmative interaction connected the satellite signifier that I could, astatine this age, fixed my interests and passions. Three golds and six medals later, I tin confidently accidental was erstwhile a imagination is present a reality."

Fox News’ Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.

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