Eileen Gu and Zoe Atkin have a lot in common. They are both in the Olympics as American-born athletes who chose to represent a country that is not their own.
Their similarities do not make them the same.
There is a big difference between the countries for which they compete. Only one (probably) had to give up her citizenship.
Eileen Gu chose to represent China at the Olympics.
A lot has been made about Gu’s decision not to compete for the United States. The 22-year-old skier decided at the age of 15 to honor her heritage and compete for China.
Eileen Gu is the daughter of a first-generation Chinese immigrant. Her maternal grandfather was the chief electrical engineer for the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of China. She also spent her summers in Beijing as a kid. Her decision had nothing to do with politics.
It is political.
China does not usually recognize duel citizenship so athletes are typically to renounce their original nationality to wear the Five-star Red Flag. Gu also collects a lucrative paycheck directly from the Chinese government not to compete for the United States.
Ex-NBA player Enes Kanter called her a “traitor” for her decision and he was not the only one to do so. Vice President JD Vance also offered criticism.
Even though she is a foreign relations major at Stanford, Gu proved ignorant toward the backlash. She does not understand why she is used as a “punching bag” when numerous other athletes choose to compete for a country in which they do not live.
Zoe Atkin chose to represent Great Britain.
Atkin is one of the aforementioned athletes who, like Gu, chose to represent a country other than the United States. The 23-year-old freestyle skier was born in Newton, Massachussetts. She, like Gu, attends Stanford University.
However, Zoe Atkin competes for Great Britain. Her father is from England. She, like Gu, grew up visiting her relatives in a foreign country. All of her relatives are overseas.
These two athletes share a lot of commonalities. They also happen to be the two best female skiers in the halfpipe competition. It would be shocking if they did not both finish on the podium.
And yet, only Gu is subject to the vocal backlash. Why is that?
Not only is Gu the bigger star in terms of name recognition, there is a big difference in their decisions.
For Atkin to snub the United States for Great Britain is super lame. Any American-born athlete who does not compete for Team USA is a giant weenie. They are not true patriots and deserve to be heckled!
The difference lies in the countries they chose to represent.
Gu likely had to give up her United States citizenship to compete for its biggest international adversary. She may not see it as a political choice but the Chinese government sees it as a major political win.
That is not the case with Atkin. Great Britain and China are not the same. It’s not apples to apples.