[People News] At the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics, Alysa Liu, representing the United States, won the gold medal in women’s singles figure skating, ending a 20-year gold medal drought for the U.S. Her achievement stands in sharp contrast to freestyle skier Eileen Gu, who competes on behalf of China.

Both athletes were born in the United States and have Chinese heritage. Gu’s mother is Chinese, while Liu’s father is from Sichuan, China, and participated in the 1989 Tiananmen Square movement. Both grew up and trained in the United States. However, they chose to compete under different national flags.

According to Radio Free Asia, Eileen Gu formally requested to switch nationality to China in 2019. She represented China at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, winning two gold medals and one silver, and became one of China’s most influential athletes overnight.

Alysa Liu won the U.S. figure skating championship at age 13, becoming one of the youngest champions in U.S. history. She has consistently represented the United States in competition. At the Milan Winter Olympics, Liu captured the women’s singles gold medal, ending the 20-year U.S. gold drought in that event. Her victory has reignited public discussion surrounding the two athletes.

It is precisely their similar backgrounds but different choices that have made Gu a controversial figure.

Recent remarks by U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance in an interview with Fox News have also brought the issue back into the spotlight.

In a February 2025 report, BBC Chinese noted that the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau disclosed in its 2025 fiscal budget that it planned to allocate 48.148 million yuan (approximately $6.63 million) to support Winter Olympic skiing gold medalist Eileen Gu and figure skater Zhu Yi in representing Beijing. The disclosure sparked widespread controversy. The bureau later quickly deleted the relevant wording, and related discussions on social media were reportedly censored.

On Chinese social media, Gu’s public image has little room for negativity. State media have prominently portrayed her as a model of “systemic success.”

With both athletes delivering standout performances, debates over nationality choices and questions of loyalty have followed. What is your view?