The City of San Francisco is facing blowback for its Eileen Gu announcement over the weekend.
The California city chose to honor the 22-year-old Winter Olympian, who competed for China at the 2026 Games in Italy. Gu, who was born in the United States, chose to compete internationally for China. She’s won six Winter Olympics over two games.
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Over the weekend, Gu was named the Grand Marshal of San Francisco’s Chinese New Year Parade.
“Olympic freestyle skiing champion Eileen Gu received a hometown welcome in San Francisco today, serving as Grand Marshal of the city’s annual Chinese New Year Festival and Parade,” ABC News announced.
Not everyone was happy, though.
“Why are they glorifying a traitor?” one critic wrote.
“Why doesn’t she go to Beijing for her victory parade? Weird,” another shared.
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“We already have our real heroes at home, thanks,” one fan added.
“Hometown? She competed for China She should be in Beijing,” another fan remarked.
U.S. Olympian defends Eileen Gu’s decision
U.S. Olympian Alysa Liu defended Gu, saying that she was well within her rights to do what she did.
“I think people are hypocritical for shaming her for representing China. So in my head it’s a bit hypocritical, because her mom is an immigrant. Y’all would have told her to go back to China. Now that they’re back in China, you’re mad,” she said.
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Where do you stand on the issue?
This story was originally published by The Spun on Mar 9, 2026, where it first appeared in the Olympics section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.