Eileen Gu has captivated Beijing 2022, and she continues to dodge questions about her citizenship

Eileen Gu has emerged as one of the most compelling athletes - and stories - of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Yet the prominent American-born athlete’s performances have been shrouded in controversy over her allegiances to China.

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Gu’s father is American and her mother is Chinese. She grew up skiing on the slopes of Lake Tahoe, and had reached her first World Cup podium by the age of 15.

Though she switched to compete for China, it’s unclear whether she renounced her American citizenship - usually a requirement for Chinese naturalisation, since the country does not allow dual citizenship.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) requires athletes to hold passports for the countries they compete for.

Gu has never publicly commented on the status of her American citizenship, though an article on the official Olympic site referred to her “dual nationality” in January.

The 18-year-old has only ever dodged answering questions on whether she was still a US citizen - and continued that trend at a news conference after her win on Tuesday.

“Are you still a US citizen?” the 18-year-old was asked.

“I’m American when I’m in the US, and I’m Chinese when I’m in China,” Gu replied.

“I’ve always been super outspoken in my gratitude to the US and to the US team as well,” she replied.

“They have been nothing but supportive to me, and for that I am forever grateful.

“And same to the Chinese team. They have been so, so supportive of me.

“I have been very outspoken about my gratitude to both the US and China for making me the person I am.

“And so in that sense, I feel like sport is really a way in that we