On and off skis, Gu is a excessive achiever in each a part of her world.
California-born and raised by an American father and Chinese mom, she attended non-public college in San Francisco and is at the moment taking a sabbatical from her research at Stanford University, the place she majors in worldwide relations and beforehand studied quantum physics.
She can also be fluent in Mandarin, and as a toddler would spend summers in Beijing.
“Sometimes it feels like I’m carrying the weight of two countries on my shoulders,” Gu stated earlier within the 2026 Games.
In 2019, on the age of simply 15, she switched her sporting allegiance from the US to China, desirous to “inspire millions of young people in Beijing – my mother’s birthplace” earlier than the 2022 Olympics.
Whatever her reasoning, it was a call that proved profitable.
In December, Forbes ranked Gu because the fourth-highest paid feminine athlete for 2025, behind solely tennis gamers Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek.
But not like these three, solely a tiny quantity of her $23.1m (£17.1m) earnings final 12 months got here from prize cash from her sport – round $100,000 (£74,000).
Instead, it comes via endorsements with manufacturers resembling Red Bull, Porsche and Tiffany & Co, whereas she has walked the runway for Louis Vuitton and Victoria’s Secret and is signed by modelling company IMG.
It additionally emerged in 2025, as reported within the Wall Street Journal, external, that Gu and one other athlete have been set to be paid a mixed $6.6m (£4.9m) by the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau.
In complete, the 2 athletes have been stated to be paid practically $14m (£10.4m) over the previous three years by the Bureau.
But her choice to compete for China was additionally one which drew a lot criticism, not simply due to China and the US’ rivalry because the world’s two greatest economies, however due to China’s authoritarian Communist Party rulers and its poor file on human rights – which it denies.
While the preliminary furore died down, it has raised its head once more at these Games.
At the beginning of the Olympics, American freestyle skier Hunter Hess spoke out in regards to the actions of the United States’ Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) organisation and ongoing tensions within the US.
In January, intensive care nurse Alex Pretti, 37, and fellow Minnesota resident Renee Good, 37, have been each killed by ICE brokers within the metropolis, sparking widespread protests.
Asked what it means to symbolize the USA, Hess stated: “It’s a bit exhausting.
“Just as a result of I’m sporting the flag doesn’t suggest I symbolize every thing that is occurring within the US.”
President Donald Trump responded to Hess’ comment by calling him a “actual loser”, and Gu was one of several athletes who publicly defended Hess and others speaking out.
“As somebody who’s been caught within the crossfire earlier than, I really feel sorry for the athletes,” she said.
But that enraged her critics, given Gu chose to speak out against Trump but has never criticised China.
Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom called her a “traitor”, adding she “was born in America, raised in America, lives in America and selected to compete in opposition to her personal nation for the worst human rights abuser on the planet – China”.
“You do not get to benefit from the freedoms of US citizenship whereas performing as a worldwide PR asset for the Chinese Communist Party,” he wrote on X.
When requested about China’s human rights file by Time magazine, external, in an interview revealed in January, she answered: “I’m not an professional on this.
“I haven’t done the research. I don’t think it’s my business.”
