San Francisco Gu win a second gold

Gu came into Friday’s finals in women’s freestyle skiing halfpipe as the leading qualifier, with 95.50 points. She continued her dominance in the finals. After a 93.25 on her first run, she threw down a 95.25 on her second. As the final skier, she spent her final run as a victory lap as she won her third medal — and second goal of these Olympic games.

Gu competed for the USA at the 2018-19 FIS Ski World Cup season. She learned to ski at Lake Tahoe, where her mother was a parttime ski instructor. Gu then decided to compete for China.

“I chose to ski for China because there’s this massive opportunity to spread the sport to people who haven’t even heard of it before,” Gu said at her press conference after the free ski slopestyle competition.

“Honestly, I have met my goal. There are 300 million people on snow (in China), so to have even influenced a tiny fraction of that makes me immensely proud.

“I feel as though I use my voice as much as I can on topics that are relevant and personal to myself and targeted towards people who are willing to listen to me…I’m also a teen age girl. So, I do my best to make the world a better place — and I’m having fun while doing it,” Gu said. “Skiing is something that can bring us all together and we can make friends with each other.”

Her grandmother still lives in China and Gu was looking forward to having her watch the halfpipe competition – the first time to ever see her performing in person.

Gu’s mother, Yan Gu, speaking to her on the phone from San Francisco, had suggested she skip halfpipe training after the first two medals here. But Gu would have none of that and was quickly back on the snow, taking no time off. She’s stayed in the remote mountain area of Zhangjiakou throughout most of the Games, although there is a new high speed rail connection to Beijing.

Gu is the most prominent among several athletes in Beijing, including skaters and hockey players, who were raised in America but are now competing for China. Her Chinese name is Gu Ailing.

A report on Yahoo Sports notes that China does not permit dual citizenship, according to the laws on its books. The International Olympic Committee, however, allows athletes with dual citizenship to compete — but requires them to hold a passport for the country which they represent in the Olympic Games. The USA has a renunciation process, a simple declaration to end your American citizenship. It includes a $2,350 fee. It has immense repercussions that could last a lifetime.

That is, apparently, not currently being applied to top athletes, however. The Yahoo report says that Eileen Gu’s name does not appear on any quarterly list of individuals who have renounced citizenship, published by the Federal Register.

So, it appears that Gu will enter Stanford for the next term with her American passport still in hand.