Born in the U.S., 22-year-old Eileen Gu once again made her mother’s country proud. Representing China at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, she delivered when it mattered most. She walked away with three medals at these Games: Gold in halfpipe, Silver in slopestyle, Silver in big air!

With those results, her Olympic medal count now stands at six, including her achievements at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. But with all this success came a familiar question. Some people began asking again whether Gu can actually speak Chinese, the language of the country she represents.

What triggered the debate about whether Eileen Gu can speak Chinese?

A post on X from user @Kai_Wong_CN began circulating widely.

“She can’t speak Chinese and has never lived in China,” after the quote Kai Wong revealed the fact.

“Fact: Eileen speaks Chinese natively. She’s been going back and forth between China and the US since childhood. Americans see her only through US media, which spews hate and fake China news 24/7.”

News served to you like never before!

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In the post, Eileen Gu was talking about her expectations of the Winter Olympics in Mandarin in an interview with CCTV+.

The post sparked fresh discussion about her language ability and identity. One even commented, “She speaks Chinese even with a Beijing accent, her mother’s hometown.”

Eileen Gu grew up in a bilingual household in San Francisco. Her mother, who is from Beijing, made sure Mandarin was part of her daily life from an early age. Gu has said in interviews that she learned to read and write Chinese, not just speak it.

“She (her mom) would always make me do my homework and practice writing characters,” Gu had revealed.

Eileen Gu added, “At first, I didn’t really like it, but I’m so glad she did it now.”

Learning Mandarin was an advantage since Gu lived in Beijing during her childhood and spent summers there until high school. In fact, during the Beijing Winter Olympics, she shared that she spent around 30 percent of her early years there.

These were extended stays, often during summers, when she spoke Mandarin in everyday settings with family and in social environments.

In a 2021 interview with ESPN, she explained her identity: “Since I was little, I’ve always said when I’m in the US, I’m American, but when I’m in China, I’m Chinese.”

That feeling sits at the center of the questions people still ask.

Why Eileen Gu chose China while living in America

Eileen Gu was born and raised in San Francisco. She grew up there with her mother and grandmother, trained through the American ski system, attended school in the United States, and later enrolled at Stanford University. Even today, when she is not competing or traveling for training, the U.S. remains her home base. But her story has never been rooted in a single place.

Her mother is Chinese and her father is from the United States (but little is known about him). Then came the choice that would redefine the way the world saw her!

In 2019, when she was only 15, Eileen Gu let her intention known to compete for the sporting nation of China instead of the United States.

“This was an incredibly tough decision for me to make.… The opportunity to help inspire millions of young people where my mom was born, during the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games, is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help to promote the sport I love. Through skiing, I hope to unite people, promote common understanding, create communication, and forge friendships between nations….”

Her message was clear. The choice was tied to heritage, identity, and the chance to grow winter sports in a country where they were still developing.

But switching teams didn’t mean she had to alter everything about her life. Eileen Gu is not a permanent resident of China. Her daily life, especially her university life, was based in the US.

So the image is not black and white. It is both. An American-born ski racer with strong ties to China. A Stanford undergrad who competes for China on the world stage. A life shuttling between continents, defined by family, sport, and opportunity.