Eileen Gu is the poster child for a new type of Chinese athlete. But one wrong move could send her tumbling
By Jessie Yeung, CNNUpdated 0730 GMT (1530 HKT) February 7, 2022Hong Kong (CNN)At this year'sBeijing Winter Olympics, the face of China's sporting dreams is undeniably American.Freestyle skier Eileen Gu's rise to the top has been meteoric — and her popularity in China has exploded in the lead-up to the Games. «Snow princess Gu Ailing set to shine at home Olympics,» read one headline in state-run media Xinhua, referring to Gu by her Chinese name.But Gu, 18, has another home: the United States, where she was born to a Chinese mother and American father, and where she first discovered her love for the sport. In 2015, just a few months after she reached her first World Cup podium, the San Francisco native announced she was switching to compete
