Olympians speak out in defense of Eileen Gu amid criticism for competing for China over US

As American-born Team China skier Eileen Gu faces mounting scrutiny successful the Winter Olympics, 2 different Americans competing successful Milan Cortina person spoken retired successful enactment of the arguable medalist. 

Team USA seasoned women's skeleton jock Kelly Curtis, who besides serves arsenic a unit sergeant successful the Air Force, admits she hasn't enactment overmuch thought into Gu's determination to correspond China implicit the U.S. Still, Curtis insists she lone has respect for Gu owed to her endowment and accomplishments. 

"I honestly person not fixed it overmuch thought. She is the astir decorated freestyle skier, truthful she's astatine the apical of her run, and I person thing but respect for her," Curtis told Fox News Digital. 

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Silver medalist Eileen Gu of China poses for photos aft the awarding ceremonial of the freestyle skiing women's freeski large aerial lawsuit astatine the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games successful Livigno, Italy, Feb. 16, 2026. (Photo by Wang Peng/Xinhua via Getty Images) (Wang Peng/Xinhua via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, different American national who chooses to correspond different state successful the Olympics straight supports Gu's determination to vie for China.

Team Israel bobsled skipper AJ Edelman, who grew up successful New England, has opted to correspond Israel successful Skeleton successful the 2022 Beijing Winter Games and successful bobsled this year. He antecedently told Fox News Digital that, contempt being a arrogant American, helium would ne'er see representing the U.S. implicit Israel. 

Edelman questioned those who person criticized her for choosing China. 

"Every azygous jock has a antithetic diversion journey, and each azygous jock chooses a way successful their beingness of that diversion travel that is there's and there's alone. I deliberation it is incredibly inappropriate for anyone to request work of idiosyncratic successful athletics for immoderate peculiar crushed that is not of that athlete's ain will," Edelman told Fox News Digital of Gu and the disapproval she has received.

"When it comes to Eileen oregon immoderate different jock who represents different state … that is of nary one's close to question. It is perfectly inappropriate and extreme."

Edelman compared Gu's determination to his ain prime to correspond Israel. 

"Any jock is escaped to take the diversion way that they take, and I'm going to respect that. In presumption of my ain determination to correspond a state that is not the United States, I chose to bash thing that I thought would marque an interaction successful a peculiar community. And I felt that assemblage would champion beryllium impacted done the quality oregon done practice done the authorities of Israel," helium added.

However, Edelman made fiscal sacrifices to vie for Israel, which has a bobsled squad with acold less resources than the U.S. 

He antecedently told Fox News Digital helium had to unrecorded beneath the poorness enactment successful bid to support his committedness to starring the Israeli squad for the past 13 years, and had to merchantability each of his bitcoin, which helium says would person been worthy millions contiguous if helium held onto it. 

"It was each spent connected bobsledding," helium said. "I'd beryllium a mega-millionaire if I inactive had it."

Gu meantime has go a multimillionaire, portion representing China. 

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Gu is the highest-paid Winter Olympic jock successful the world, making an estimated $23 cardinal successful 2025 unsocial amid partnerships with Chinese companies, including the Bank of China, and occidental companies. Gu has said she represents China for her mother, who was calved there.

The Wall Street Journal reported past week that Gu and Zhu Yi, a chap American-born fig skater who present competes for China, were paid a combined $6.6 cardinal by the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau successful 2025 for "striving for fantabulous results successful qualifying for the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics." In all, the 2 were reportedly paid astir $14 cardinal implicit the past 3 years.

Meanwhile, Gu has not addressed the alleged quality rights abuses carried retired by China. 

In an interrogation with TIME Magazine, Gu was asked her thoughts connected China's alleged persecution of Uyghurs and different Turkic Muslim minorities successful Xinjiang. 

"I haven’t done the research. I don’t deliberation it’s my business. I’m not going to marque large claims connected my societal media," Gu answered.

"I’m conscionable much of a skeptic erstwhile it comes to information successful general… So it’s not similar I tin work an nonfiction and beryllium like, ‘Oh, well, this indispensable beryllium the truth.’ I request to person a ton of evidence. I request to possibly spell to the place, possibly speech to 10 primary-source radical who are successful a determination and person experienced beingness there. Then I request to spell spot images. I request to perceive to recordings. I request to deliberation astir however past affects it. Then I request to work books connected however authorities affects it. This is simply a lifelong search…

"It’s irresponsible to inquire maine to beryllium the mouthpiece for immoderate agenda."

Gu admitted that she's felt similar a "punching bag" amid the backlash this winter.

"I do," Gu said erstwhile asked if she feels "like a spot of a punching container for a definite strand of American politics," per USA Today. 

"So galore athletes vie for a antithetic country. ... People lone person a occupation with maine doing it due to the fact that they benignant of lump China into this monolithic entity, and they conscionable hatred China. So it's not truly astir what they deliberation it's about. And also, due to the fact that I win. Like if I wasn't doing well, I deliberation that they astir apt wouldn't attraction arsenic much, and that's OK for me. People are entitled to their opinions."

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Eileen Gu of Team People's Republic of China falls successful the Women's Freeski Halfpipe Qualification 1 connected time thirteen of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games astatine Livigno Air Park connected Feb. 19, 2026 successful Livigno, Italy.  (Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Gu has antecedently said she was "physically assaulted" for her determination to correspond China.  

"The constabulary were called. I’ve had decease threats. I’ve had my dorm robbed," Gu told The Athletic. "I’ve gone done immoderate things arsenic a 22-year-old that I truly deliberation nary 1 should ever person to endure, ever."

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