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American-born Chinese team skier Eileen Gu commented on US team figure skater Alysa Liu’s historic gold medal in the women’s free skate final on Thursday at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
After Liu became the first American figure skater to win an individual Olympic medal in 20 years and the first to win gold in 24 years, she made a celebratory post on Instagram.
“These are for all of you,” Liu wrote in the caption of a photo holding her gold medal and the US team’s gold.
ALYSA LIU VS EILEEN GU: HOW TWO CHINESE AMERICAN STARS ENDED UP ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF AN OLYMPIC WAR
Gold medalist Alysa Liu of the United States poses for a photo during the women’s single skating medal ceremony at the Milano Ice Skating Arena during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games on February 19, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Gu commented on the post, celebrating Liu’s victory.
“YESSSSS,” Gu wrote in the comments section.
The two Chinese-American stars have been relentlessly compared and contrasted on social media during these Olympics.
Both athletes are children of immigrants who came to the United States from China. But many fans and critics were quick to point out the contrast between Liu’s story, a tale of American loyalty told by the son of an immigrant, and Gu, who chose to compete for China’s team when he was 15 despite living in California.
Arthur Liu raised Alysa and her siblings in Oakland. Yan Gu raised Eileen across the San Francisco Bay.
Their paths separated in 2019.
The Chinese government launched a program to recruit foreign-born athletes, primarily of Chinese descent, to boost competitiveness, particularly for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and soccer, according to The Chinese project.
Gu and Liu were the main recruiting targets.
Gu changed his red, white, and blue to red and gold. Just months after competing in his first freestyle skiing World Cup for the U.S. in January 2019, he competed for China for the first time in June of that year after requesting a change of nation with the International Ski Federation.
Silver medalist Eileen Gu of China attends the award ceremony of the women’s freestyle big air freestyle skiing event at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 16, 2026. (Hongxiang/Xinhua via Getty Images)
The Lius remained loyal to Team USA.
AMERICAN OLYMPIAN ALYSA LIU WAS THE TARGET OF CHINESE SPIES: THIS IS WHAT SHE HAS TO SAY ABOUT IT
Arthur was reportedly “not open to persuasion” for Alysa to run for China, according to The economist.
Both athletes competed at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Gu representing China and Liu representing the US.
Gu won two gold medals and one silver in freeskiing and returned home to California a new global name for his success.
Liu finished in sixth place in women’s singles figure skating, then temporarily retired early, before returning to the sport in 2024.
But in 2026, Liu is the only one with any gold after helping the United States win team gold and its historic individual gold on Thursday. Maybe if Gu represented the United States, he would have won gold.
Liu hit all of her jumps and smiled during the individual final before breaking out into a demonstrative celebration after finishing.
She shouted, “That’s what I’m talking about!” and “Holy crap!” while celebrating with his team. She finished with a total score of 226.79, a free skate score of 150.20 and a short program score of 76.59. It was his best free skate score of the season.
OLYMPIANS SPEAK UP IN DEFENSE OF EILEEN GU AMID CRITICISMS FOR COMPETING FOR CHINA OVER US
But Gu has only won two silvers so far in Italy.
An interaction Tuesday with a journalist went viral after Gu responded to a question about winning two silver medals instead of gold so far in these Olympics, suggesting the question came from a “ridiculous perspective.”
“I’m the most decorated free skier in history. I think that’s an answer in itself,” Gu said when asked if she saw her two medals as “silver won” or “gold lost.”
“How do I say this? Winning a medal at the Olympics is a life-changing experience for every athlete. Doing it five times is exponentially harder because each medal is equally difficult for me, but everyone else’s expectations are raised, right?”
“The two lost medals situation, to be honest, I think is a ridiculous prospect. I’m showing my best skiing. I’m doing things that have literally never been done before. So I think that’s more than enough, but thank you.”
Gu will have one last chance to win gold in the women’s halfpipe final, considered her strongest event, on Sunday. The event will take place a day later than originally planned due to heavy snow in the area.
Gu nearly lost any chance of winning a gold medal after falling in the halfpipe qualifying on Thursday. But he bounced back in his second race to earn a place in the final.
Gu has had to compete under the pressure of immense global scrutiny in response to his decision to run for China seven years ago.
Gu was asked if he feels “like a punching bag for a certain strand of American politics” after his competition Thursday.
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Silver medalist Eileen Gu of China poses for photos after the award ceremony of the women’s freestyle big air freestyle skiing event at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 16, 2026. (Wang Peng/Xinhua via Getty Images)
“Yes,” he said, according to USA Today. “A lot of athletes compete for a different country… People just have a problem with them doing it because they lump China into this monolithic entity, and they just I hate China. So it’s not really about what they think it’s about.
“And also because I win. If I wasn’t doing well, I think they probably wouldn’t care as much, and that’s fine with me. People have a right to their opinions.”
