Eileen Gu Is Golden Again at the Beijing Olympics After Win in the Freeski Halfpipe

The "Genocide Olympics" end tonight. Thank God! 

And now Eileen Gu/Gu Ailing's being hailed --- after wining three medals --- as the most successful athlete at the Winter Games. 

I didn't see it, but #EileenGuTraitor might as well have been trending on Twitter.

At WSJ, "She will leave Beijing as the first athlete—man or woman—to win three freestyle skiing medals in a single Olympics":

ZHANGJIAKOU, China—Eileen Gu snapped up another gold medal for Team China at the freestyle skiing halfpipe event on Friday, capping off the 18-year-old’s first Olympics with three medals (two golds and a silver) and cementing herself as the belle of the Games in the host country.

She will leave Beijing as the first athlete—man or woman—to win three freestyle skiing medals in a single Olympics. The big air event, in which Gu won a surprise gold, debuted at these Games. Gu earned a silver medal in the slopestyle event earlier this week.

Gu’s performance was so dominant that her final trip down the halfpipe was a de facto victory run, as her 95.00-point second run was the highest in the field by nearly five points. Defending gold medalist Cassie Sharp of Canada attempted a third run with the highest degree of difficulty of any competitor in the field, but fell short, earning 90.75 points—placing her in silver medal position. Rachael Karker, also of Canada, took bronze with a 87.75-point run.

Of all the medals Gu won in Beijing, her gold on Friday was the most expected. Across five competitions during the 2021-22 season, Gu was undefeated in the event. She made her victory on Friday all but a foregone conclusion with a solid first run that scored 93.25 and vaulted her to the top of the standings. When it came time to climb the podium, she did so wearing an Anta-branded panda hat, a nod to the Beijing Olympics’ pudgy panda mascot Bing Dwen Dwen.

“I have an Olympics panda hat. This is the coolest thing ever,” Gu said, pointing to the Bing Dwen Dwen mascot sewn on the left side of her hat. “Bing Dwen Dwen is very hard to get now so I want to wear it and show off,” she said in Mandarin. The skiing supernova spent nearly an hour walking through the mixed zone to take questions from broadcast and print media. Looking back at her two-week Olympic run fraught with both plaudits and controversies, Gu said: “These few weeks have been emotionally the highest I have ever been and the lowest I have ever been.”

“At the end of the day, I feel very proud, and feel very grateful for the people who have supported me. And for the people who don’t support me, I’ve actually genuinely made peace with it. I’ve dismissed it,” she said.

“My motto is now if they don’t think I’m doing good in the world, then they can go do better,” she added.

Though the score from her first run was high enough to win the competition, Gu improved upon her margin on the second run. She laid down a more difficult final trick involving twists on two different axes and put up 95.25 points. It was the third-highest score she has posted this season, having put up 97.50 points at a World Cup event in California in January.

“She’s competing against herself now,” said the announcer at the Genting Snow Park, as Gu readied for her second run. Starting last in a field of 12 women, her score from the first run topped the field even after the other 11 women had completed two trips down the pipe.

After Sharp failed to top Gu’s score during her third run, despite landing a combination of tricks that no other woman in the field attempted, Gu just needed to wait for two more skiers to throw down. Estonia’s Kelly Sildaru, bronze medalist in the women’s slopestyle competition earlier in the week, scored 85 points; Karker fell.

With a gold medal assured, Gu appeared visibly emotional ahead of her third and final run. She slid down the halfpipe with a few effortless tricks, appearing to have fun by posing with her poles between spread legs after catching big air and whizzing to the bottom to a euphoric home crowd.

Eileen Gu or the Chained Woman?

I've already blogged about Eileen Gu, but nothing like this. 

There are at least 600,000 million Chinese living in abject poverty, but Chairman Xi can't let the cat out of the bag. So, Ms. Gu is promoted to the top of Wiebo while human-trafficking victim Xiaohuamei (little flower plum) is censored and crushed under the boot-heel of totalitarianism.

Absolutely unreal story. I already loathe China. I'm to the point of no longer reporting on the regime because it makes me furious. The diabolical hypocrisy is stunning. Americans like Eileen Gu to the cretins of the International Olympic Committee --- with this whole Olympics propaganda regime --- have blood on their hands. And that's to say nothing of the Chinese Communist Party thugs who should be destroyed rather than coddled. This is all so sickening, even anti-American. 

At the New York Times. "Who Is the Real China? Eileen Gu or the Chained Woman?":

Two women have dominated Chinese social media during the Beijing Winter Olympics.

One is Eileen Gu, the 18-year-old skier born and raised in California who won a gold medal for China. The other is a mother of eight who was found chained around her neck to the wall of a doorless shack.

The Chinese internet is exploding with discussions about which of the two represents the real China. Many people are angry that the government-controlled algorithms glorify Ms. Gu, who fits into the narrative of the powerful and prosperous China, while censoring the chained woman, whose deplorable conditions defy that narrative.

The two women’s starkly different circumstances — celebrated vs. silenced — reflect the reality that to the Chinese state, everyone is a tool that serves a purpose until it does not.

Whether she wants it, Ms. Gu has become a powerful propaganda tool for Beijing to demonstrate its appeal to global talent and the benefits of being loyal to China. She represents the successful China that Beijing would like the world to admire.

The chained woman represents the poor and backward China that hundreds of millions still inhabit. They sometimes appear in the state media to demonstrate the country’s success in eradicating extreme poverty until their miseries become an inconvenient truth.

“Does Eileen Gu’s success have anything to do with ordinary Chinese?” goes the headline of one viral article that was censored later.

“Can we remember these women while cheering for Eileen Gu?” asks another headline.

“To judge whether a society is civilized or not, we should not look at how successful the privileged are but how miserable the disadvantaged are,” the article said. “Ten thousand sports champions can’t wash away the humiliation of one enslaved woman, not to mention tens of thousands of them.”

The Chinese government doesn’t like where the debate is heading. The juxtaposition of the two women highlights that underneath the glamorous surface of one of the world’s largest economies lie jarring poverty and widespread abuse of women’s rights.

It defeats the purpose of recruiting star athletes like Ms. Gu: to showcase a powerful China with global appeal.

“The reality is that the vast majority of Chinese won’t have the opportunity to become Eileen Gu,” Li Yinuo, founder of a prominent education company in Beijing, wrote in an article. But the tragedy of the chained woman, she wrote, could happen to anyone.

A few hours later, her article was deleted.

Embedded in the debate is a deep disappointment among middle-class Chinese who are usually willing to go along with the government’s narratives but are incensed by the repeated lies, lack of action and subsequent censorship in the case of the chained woman.

They feel that the government is pouring too many resources behind a privileged member of the society while neglecting another member in dire need of help. They’re worried that the latter’s misfortune could happen to them or their daughters.

Many social media users, including some self-claimed nationalistic little pinks, posted a quote from a famous Chinese novel: “I love the country. But does the country love me?”

The story of the chained woman — whose name, according to the government, is Xiaohuamei (little flower plum) — has captivated the Chinese internet since a short video went viral in late January. In it, a middle-age woman with a dazed expression stood in the dark shack with a chain on her neck. Subsequent videos revealed that she had lost most of her teeth and seemed to be mentally disturbed.

The local authorities issued four conflicting statements in the following two weeks. In the latest statement on Thursday, the authorities reported that Xiaohuamei could be a victim of human trafficking and that her husband was under investigation for false imprisonment. The government had denied both earlier.

The fates of the two women converged online last week after Ms. Gu won her gold medal.

At one point, Ms. Gu, who grew up in an upscale neighborhood in San Francisco and represents some of the biggest brands, like Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Company, occupied 10 of the 20 hottest hashtags on Weibo. The hashtag about Xiaohuamei was nowhere to be seen, even though many people were still talking about her.

Some social media users were outraged by the lopsided treatment of the two women. They felt that even though they had tried their best to be the obedient and useful tools in the giant machinery of the Chinese state, Xiaohuamei’s tragedy showed that the state won’t necessarily offer them protection...

And watch here, "To give the full story, here is the original video that caused the social media storm, which is still ongoing today (tw distressing content, not sure why the lock is blurred, as if that is the most shocking thing about this video..)."

'Luxury Dream Model' Eileen Gu

I mentioned it the other day, "...she's a freakin' hotsie-totsie high-fashion cover model who's graced the front of Vogue Hong Kong." 

Apparently she's been on the cover of Vogue China's bimonthly edition.

At CNN, "Why Eileen Gu is luxury fashion's dream model":

For followers of freestyle skiing and fashion alike, the buzz surrounding Winter Olympian Eileen Gu at this year's Games has come as little surprise.

The 18-year-old's gold medal performance in the big air competition thrust her into the global spotlight Tuesday, sparking such a furor in China that social media platform Weibo crashed under the weight of interest. But Gu has spent years establishing herself as both a top athlete and a hugely bankable model who appeals to brands in both Asia and the West.

In 2021, as she won gold medals at the skiing World Championships and Winter X Games, Gu was also forging lucrative partnerships with fashion houses and luxury labels. Signing for IMG Models, the agency representing Bella Hadid, Kate Moss and Hailey Bieber, she has penned deals with Louis Vuitton, Victoria's Secret and Tiffany & Co., as well as the luxury Swiss watchmaker IWC and cosmetics brand Estée Lauder, among others.

In fact, the California-born athlete is among the most heavily sponsored athletes at these Olympics. She arrived in Beijing with more than 20 commercial partnerships, ranging from Beats by Dre headphones to Cadillac.

But it is Gu's mass appeal in China, where she is known by her Chinese name Gu Ailing and has been nicknamed the "Snow Princess," that makes her especially valuable to brands.

For the Year of the Tiger, can luxury fashion change its stripes?

Having switched her sporting allegiance to her mother's home country in 2019, Gu's fluency in Mandarin has helped secure her place on Chinese TV ads, billboards and even milk cartons (as the face of Inner Mongolia-based Mengniu Dairy). E-commerce giant JD.com, cafe chain Luckin Coffee and telecoms firm China Mobile are among the growing list of mainland brands that she's modeled for in recent months.

China is on track to become the world's largest luxury market by 2025, according to consulting firm Bain. The Asian edition of marketing and advertising industry magazine Campaign estimated that new endorsements there could be earning the athlete around 15 million yuan ($2.5 million) apiece -- and that was before her gold-medal success.

According to Bohan Qiu, whose Shanghai-based creative agency Boh Project works with major fashion brands, Gu's surging popularity in the country comes at a time when nationalist pride in China has seen "the relevance of Western celebrities" decrease.

"For this generation, a lot of the celebrities here are quite domestic-oriented -- so (Gu) being half-American half-Chinese, and speaking both languages fluently, has a very global appeal," he said over the phone, adding that the country's Gen Z demographic contains "third culture kids" who simultaneously understand Chinese and Western contexts. "She is definitely a once-in-a-decade type of talent."

Gu has coupled big-money deals with reputable magazine features and appearances at A-list fashion shows. Spotted at events like Paris Fashion Week as far back as 2019, she has since been seen on Louis Vuitton's front row and the notoriously exclusive Met Gala, where she arrived on the red carpet wearing a Carolina Herrera bubble dress.

"The fashion world has helped balance my training," she told Vogue Hong Kong, appearing on the cover of the magazine's July issue. "Just like skiing, modeling requires incredible expression and personality. It requires creativity, confidence, and the ability to learn and adapt... The transition between modeling and skiing became a break and a practice for each other that helped me eventually feel more motivated in each area."

Gu has also appeared on the cover of Chinese editions of GQ and Elle. And as guest editor of Vogue China's Gen-Z-focused bimonthly issue, Vogue+, the athlete recently explored the complexities of her identity under the theme "code switch."

"I wanted to explore and showcase the inherently malleable nature of adolescent identities, Gu wrote on Instagram, "a quality I've found myself tapping into time and time again as I display different facets of myself (athlete, model, student, Chinese, American, teenager, writer, public persona, etc) in different environments. Everyone code switches, and I think it's time we start celebrating that multifaceted nature."

Gu's social media is also littered with fashion. Whether posting to Instagram or writing to millions of followers on Xiaohongshu and Weibo (the Chinese equivalent of Instagram and Twitter, respectively), her feeds flit between sport and style, with pictures from the slopes posted alongside modeling shots and her latest fashion editorials...

More.

 

Lots of Questions About Gold Medal-Winning American Skier Eileen Gu -- Skiing for Team China WTAF?!!

I'm hella impressed with this young woman, only 18-years-old (here). 

But she pisses me right the fuck off. She's skis for the genocidal totalitarians in Beijing! She was born in San Francisco, fer cryin' out loud, and she's headed to Stanford in the fall. And she's actually fucking skiing for China?!!

She's allegedly renounced her citizenship, as China *supposedly* doesn't allow dual citizenship and other Americans now competing for China have surrendered their American passports. But she's a freakin' hotsie-totsie high-fashion cover model who's graced the front of Vogue Hong Kong. 

Spoiled brat. Talk about privilege. Smart though. She easily slips questioning about her citizenship status --- and boasts a 1580 on the SAT, so what can you do, I guess?

She's a bonafide champion now, taking the gold medal in the women's big air freestyle last night, in an apparent surprise win, as the big air is not her signature event.

But about that citizenship (arches eyebrow), see the Wall Street Journal, "Eileen Gu’s Beijing Olympics Begin With Gold in Big Air -- And Citizenship Questions":

See what I’m talking ‘bout. Fucking brilliant. 🎿 ⛷ https://t.co/yFjLo0nVeB

— Donald Douglas 📘 (@AmPowerBlog) February 8, 2022

Eileen Gu’s Beijing Olympics Begin With Gold in Big Air—And Citizenship Questions

BEIJING—A surprise gold medal by Eileen Gu, the U.S.-born freestyle skier competing for her mother’s homeland of China, set off jubilation in the Chinese public but spurred renewed questions about her citizenship status.

Gu’s win for China in Tuesday’s big air event secured the country’s third gold medal in these Olympics—briefly putting the country atop the gold-medal count—and came before the U.S. has won any golds.

Gu was a slight underdog to French phenom Tess Ledeux in her Beijing Olympics debut, but won on the third and final run by nailing a trick she had never done before in competition. It featured four-and-a-half horizontal rotations and two flips.

On her final run, Ledeux couldn’t surpass Gu’s feat, and Gu finished with an overall score of 188.25 to Ledeux’s 187.50. Gu grinned and covered her mouth in shock as she watched her score post.

Hundreds of Chinese spectators erupted in cheers at Gu’s victory, some brandishing red and gold placards that read, “Gu Ailing, add oil”—a Chinese phrase of encouragement. Gu Ailing is her Chinese name.

The 18-year-old Gu’s unexpected win swept Chinese social media. On Weibo, a Twitter-like platform, six out of the top 10 trending topics were about her. Hashtags included “Gu Ailing takes on the world’s most difficult jump,” and “Gu Ailing Gold Medal.” Memes and moments of her victory flooded Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok.

Gu was still coming back to earth when she faced questions in a post-event news conference about her citizenship status. Western reporters asked several versions of the question but Gu deflected each one.

Olympians must be citizens of the nations in which they compete, and China’s policy is not to allow dual citizenship. Yet Gu hasn’t made clear whether she has relinquished her U.S. passport.

On Tuesday, she again emphasized that she considers herself Chinese when she’s in China, where she has spent nearly every summer of her life, and American when she’s in the U.S.

“I don’t feel as though I’m, you know, taking advantage of [China or the U.S.] because both have actually been incredibly supportive of me and continue to be supportive of me,” she said.

“Because they understand that my mission is to use sport as a force for unity, to use it as a form to foster interconnection between countries, and not use it as a divisive force. So that benefits everyone, and if you disagree with that then I feel like that’s someone else’s problem.”

Gu’s decision to compete for China, little-noticed when she made it a few years ago, has spurred controversy in recent days, particularly in the U.S., where she was born and still lives with her mother and grandmother in San Francisco. Some Americans say she is a product of U.S. ski-area infrastructure and instruction, and that her switch to China was motivated in part by gaining access to its vast commercial market.

The ambiguity around Gu’s nationality raises questions about whether Beijing has bent the rules for a top athlete, and whether her star power among some Chinese brands and more nationalistic supporters might suffer if it emerges that she hadn’t given up her U.S. citizenship.

In earlier interviews, Gu had explained her decision to switch national affiliations by saying she felt she could make a greater impact in China than in the U.S., which she felt had no shortage of role models for young people.

Yet these Games—and Gu’s sudden starting role in them—arrived at a time of escalating tensions between China and the U.S., which is carrying out a diplomatic boycott over what it describes as China’s human-rights abuses particularly in its Xinjiang region. Beijing has defended its treatment of Uyghur Muslims there as an effort to combat extremism.

On Tuesday, Gu positioned herself as a unifier of cultures, evading questions about her citizenship status or responding as though they were critiques of her or her mission.

“If other people don’t really believe that that’s where I’m coming from, then that just reflects that they do not have the empathy to empathize with a good heart—perhaps because they don’t share the same kind of morals that I do,” she said.

“And in that sense, I’m not going to waste my time trying to placate people who are, one, uneducated, and two, probably are never going to experience the kind of joy and gratitude and, just, love that I have the great fortune to experience on a daily basis,” she continued.

“If people don’t like me, then that’s their loss. They’re never going to win the Olympics.”

Gu has said she wanted to inspire girls to take up skiing because it has brought her joy and taught her physical and mental toughness.

On Tuesday, Gu also sidestepped questions about the well-being of Peng Shuai, the Chinese tennis player at the center of a global firestorm after an allegation of sexual assault against a retired high-level Chinese official appeared on her social-media account in November.

Peng, who along with Olympic officials has since tried to deflect attention from her accusations, was in the audience watching Tuesday’s big air final. Earlier this week, Gu was the only athlete Peng mentioned by name in an interview with French sports publication L’Equipe, referring to her as “our Chinese champion, Eileen Gu, who I like a lot.”

At Tuesday’s post-event news conference, Gu’s interactions with some foreign journalists contrasted with those with their Chinese counterparts. Gu flitted between English and Chinese, which she spoke with a Beijinger’s accent, and said she was “fluent culturally in both.”

One Chinese journalist called Gu a “Beijing girl” and asked about her favorite local cuisine.

“I have eaten a lot of pork and chive dumplings the last few days and I really look forward to trying some Peking duck,” she said in Mandarin...