SAN FRANCISCO, CA — A young controversial Olympian has been at the center of Olympic drama after choosing to represent her father’s home country over the United States on the global stage, according to a report from The Athletic.
But the issues started far before this year’s winter Olympics in Milano Cortina began, according to the report, as the 22-year-old freestyle skier says she was physically assaulted at Stanford University and has received death threats over her decision to represent China.
Gu, a San Francisco native and Stanford student, represented the United States in her youth/ She switched over to represent China, her mother’s birth country, in 2019, according to the report, a decision that caused international backlash.
A petition was created online in 2022 calling for Stanford University officials to revoke Gu’s acceptance. The petition, which is still online today, received more than 8,500 signatures.
A second petition was created on Wednesday, calling for Gu — and all U.S.-born athletes — to represent Team USA. So far, it’s received 183 signatures.
In an interview earlier this week on Fox News, Vice President J.D. Vance said that although only the Olympic Committee can decide who Gu can represent, he believes she should be representing Team USA.
“I certainly think that somebody who grew up in the United States of America, who benefited from our education system, from the freedoms and liberties that make this country a great place, I would hope that they want to compete with the United States of America,” Vance told Fox News on Tuesday. “So, I’m going to root for American athletes, and I think part of that is people who identify themselves as Americans. That’s who I’m rooting for this Olympics.”
So far, Gu has had an accomplished Olympic career, becoming the first freestyle skier to win three medals at a single Games at the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing in 2022.
She’s already earned several gold and silver medals at the Olympic Winter Games in Milan.