Eileen Gu is perhaps the most controversial athlete at the Winter Olympics. The San Francisco-born athlete chose to compete for China instead of the United States to honor her family.
However, she decided not to feature the five-star red flag on her ski suit.
Gu instead decided to represent Chinese culture at the Olympics through her own custom design. It is supposed to be even more recognizable.
Who is Eileen Gu?
For those who do not know, Gu is an international superstar. She is deeply involved in the world of fashion, studies at Stanford University and has more than $20 million in endorsement deals beyond the slopes. The big air, halfpipe and slopestyle skier also has seven gold medals, two silver medals and two bronze medals at the Olympics, X Games and World Championships before her 23rd birthday.
As successful as she is, Gu is just as controversial. Even though she was born and raised in the United States, currently studies in the United States and currently lives in the United States, she has competed for Team China since 2009.
Although her decision is not rooted in politics, it is inherently political. China is one of the few countries in the world that does not allow for duel citizenship so Gu likely had to give up her U.S. citizenship to ski for her mother’s country. She typically deflects the question by claiming it is not relevant.
China, not China…
Gu had her best-ever finish in Slopestyle competition at the Winter Olympics in Italy with another silver medal. She came up short of gold because of a late wipe out.
Notice Gu’s outfit. It only features the five-star red flag on her left shoulder. It is hardly noticable.
Eileen Gu designed the ski suit for herself with help from Anta. She did not make the flag of China any larger because she wanted to reflect both cultural elements and personal identity in a way that would be easily recognizable. The inspiration was china, as in the ceramic, not the country.
Eileen Gu appeared in Milan wearing a custom Olympic ski suit by Anta. The white base is inspired by Chinese ceramics, with blue graphics and pale gold details. A Chinese style dragon appears on the sleeve alongside her name, reflecting both cultural elements and personal… pic.twitter.com/hncPzS9OyN
— Chengdu China (@Chengdu_China) February 9, 2026
Gu will next compete in the big air competition on Saturday, Feb. 14 and Monday, Feb. 16 and then in the halfpipe on Thursday, Feb. 19 and Saturday, Feb. 21. It will be interesting to see how she chooses to represent China on her outfit moving forward.