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Eileen Gu, an American-born Chinese team skier, commented on Team USA figure skater Alysa Liu’s historic gold medal in the women’s free skating final Thursday at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
After Liu became the first American figure skater to win an individual Olympic medal in 20 years and the first to win a gold medal in 24 years, she posted a celebratory post on Instagram.
“This is for all of you,” Liu captioned a photo holding his and Team USA’s gold medals.
ALYSA LIU VS EILEEN GU – HOW TWO CHINESE AMERICAN STARS ENDS ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF AN OLYMPIC PROXY WAR
Gold medalist Alysa Liu of the United States poses for a photo during the women’s individual skating medal ceremony at the Milan Ice Rink during the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games on February 19, 2026, in Milan, Italy. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Gu commented on the post, celebrating Liu’s victory.
“YESSSSSSS,” Gu wrote in the comments section.
The two Chinese-American stars have been constantly compared and contrasted on social media during these Olympics.
Both athletes are the children of immigrants who came to the United States from China. But many fans and critics were quick to point out the contrast between Liu’s story, a story of American loyalty told by an immigrant’s child, and that of Gu, who chose to compete for Team China at age 15 while living in California.
Arthur Liu raised Alysa and her siblings in Oakland. Yan Gu raised Eileen just across the bay from San Francisco.
Their paths separated in 2019.
The Chinese government has launched a program to recruit foreign-born athletes, mainly of Chinese origin, to boost competitiveness, including for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and soccer, according to The China project.
Gu and Liu were the main recruitment targets.
Gu swapped his red, white and blue for red and gold. Just months after competing in her first freestyle skiing World Cup for the United States in January 2019, she competed for the first time for China in June of that year after requesting a change of country with the International Ski Federation.
Silver medalist Eileen Gu of China attends the awards ceremony of the women’s big air freestyle skiing event at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Livigno, Italy, February 16, 2026. (Hongxiang/Xinhua via Getty Images)
The Lius remained loyal to the American team.
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Arthur would have “not been convinced” that Alysa would compete for China, according to The economist.
Both athletes competed at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, with Gu representing China and Liu representing the United States.
Gu won two gold medals and a silver in free skiing and returned home to California as a new name known worldwide for her success.
Liu finished in sixth place in women’s singles figure skating, then took temporary early retirement, before returning to the sport in 2024.
But in 2026, Liu is the only one to hold gold after helping the United States win team gold and its historic individual gold medal on Thursday. Maybe if Gu represented the United States, she would have won gold.
Liu nailed all of his jumps and smiled during the individual final before launching into a demonstrative celebration after finishing.
She shouted, “That’s what I’m talking about!” and “Holy shit!” while celebrating with his team. She finished with a total score of 226.79, a score of 150.20 in the free skate and a score of 76.59 for the short program. It was her best score of the season in the free skate.
OLYMPIANS SPEAK IN DEFENSE OF EILEEN GU AMID CRITICISM FOR COMPETITION FOR CHINA AGAINST US
But Gu has only won two silver medals in Italy so far.
An interaction Tuesday with a reporter went viral after Gu responded to a question about whether she had won two silver medals instead of gold so far at the Olympics, suggesting the question came from a “ridiculous perspective.”
“I’m the most decorated freeskier in history. I think that’s an answer in itself,” Gu said when asked if she considered her two medals “silvers won” or “golds lost.”
“How can I say this? Winning a medal at the Olympics is a life-changing experience for every athlete. Doing it five times is exponentially harder because each medal is just as difficult for me, but everyone else’s expectations go up, right?
“The two lost medals situation, to be completely honest with you, I think it’s a bit of a ridiculous perspective to take. I’m putting out my best skiing. I’m doing things that have literally never been done before. So, I think it’s more than enough, but thank you.”
Gu will have one last chance to win gold in the women’s half-pipe final, considered her strongest event, on Sunday. The event will take place a day later than originally scheduled due to heavy snowfall in the area.
Gu almost lost any chance of a gold medal after falling during halfpipe qualifying on Thursday. But she recovered in her second round to qualify for the final.
Gu had to compete under the pressure of immense global scrutiny in response to his decision to compete for China seven years ago.
Gu was asked if she felt “like a punching bag for a certain part of American politics” after her contest on Thursday.
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Silver medalist Eileen Gu of China poses for photos after the awards ceremony of the women’s big air freestyle skiing event at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Livigno, Italy, February 16, 2026. (Wang Peng/Xinhua via Getty Images)
“Yes,” she said, according to USA Today. “So many athletes compete for a different country… People only have a problem with me because they kind of lump China into this monolithic entity, and they I hate China. So it’s not really about what they think.
“And also, because I’m winning. Like, if I wasn’t doing well, I think they probably wouldn’t care as much, and that’s fine with me. People are entitled to their opinions.”
