Halfpipe medal favourites were both born in the US, but only China’s Eileen Gu gets heat
Zoe Atkin competes for Britain without flak, while Gu has faced more criticism for representing China, this time from the US Vice-President
The two best bets to win the gold medal in women’s halfpipe skiing at the Winter Olympics were born in the United States.
But while Zoe Atkin, who led qualification into the final on Saturday (Sunday 2.30am, Hong Kong time), competes for Britain, hardly anyone raises a fuss about it.
However, Eileen Gu competes for China and never hears the end of it.
Stories of athletes who lived in one country then decided to compete for another are nothing new to international sports. Throw some Olympic rings on it, then add a high-profile athlete enjoying tremendous success the way Gu has, and it turns into something messy, even political.
“So many athletes compete for a different country,” Gu said after Thursday night’s qualifying put her in the mix for her third medal of these Games.
“People only have a problem with me doing it because they kind of lump China into this monolithic entity, and they just hate China. So it’s not really about what they think it’s about.”