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Divided by Nations: How Two Chinese American Olympians Became the Center of a Proxy War
When two phenomenal athletes from the exact same California background reach the absolute pinnacle of the Winter Olympics, the world usually expects a friendly, hometown rivalry. But for figure skater Alysa Liu and freestyle skier Eileen Gu, the ice and snow have instead become the backdrop for a tense geopolitical proxy war. Both young women are the daughters of single Chinese immigrants who grew up just miles apart in the Bay Area, yet they took wildly different paths to the Olympic podium—one draped in the stars and stripes, the other in the red and gold of China.
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Their parallel journeys raise a difficult question: what happens when the deeply personal family histories of two young champions are suddenly weaponized into a bitter international debate?
The Parallel Origins of Two Champions
Two young women from the California Bay Area, raised by single immigrant parents, reaching the absolute pinnacle of Winter Olympic sports. On paper, figure skater Alysa Liu and freestyle skier Eileen Gu look like two sides of the exact same coin. But the paths their parents took to bring them to the United States could not be more different.
Arthur Liu built a life in Oakland, raising Alysa as a single father. His journey to America was a matter of survival. During the spring of 1989, Arthur was a student leader involved in the Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing. When the Chinese government demanded he hand over the names of fellow student organizers, he refused. As he explained to USA Today, “Going to prison for me was a matter of time.” To avoid a labor camp, he smuggled himself onto a boat to Hong Kong, eventually making his way to California.
Just across the bay in San Francisco, Eileen Gu was raised by her mother, Yan. Yan’s journey to the United States was driven by education. After studying chemistry at Peking University, she moved to California to earn a master’s degree from Stanford. She kept her daughter deeply connected to her roots, taking Eileen back to China every summer for extra math practice.
One family escaped political persecution to find a safe haven. The other crossed the Pacific for higher education, maintaining a close, ongoing relationship with their homeland. Those deeply personal family histories would eventually push both athletes into the center of a massive international spotlight.
The Crossroads of Allegiance
As the 2022 Winter Games approached, the host nation launched an ambitious sports initiative. The Chinese naturalization project aimed to recruit talented overseas athletes of Chinese descent to elevate the country’s competitive standing. Both Eileen Gu and Alysa Liu were highly sought after targets.
For Gu, who had competed for the United States through early 2019, the recruitment pitch resonated. She officially changed her national representation to China later that year. On Instagram, the teenager explained her decision was meant “to help inspire millions of young people” and to help “unite people, promote common understanding, create communication, and forge friendships between nations.”
The move also brought incredible financial success. Reports indicate Gu is now the highest paid Winter Olympic athlete globally. She is estimated to earn 23 million dollars in 2025 alone through various corporate partnerships. Furthermore, financial records show the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau paid Gu and a fellow skater nearly 14 million dollars over three years to secure top results.
On the other hand, the Liu family firmly declined the invitation. Given Arthur Liu’s history as a political dissident, representing the government he once fled was completely out of the question. According to The Economist, Arthur was simply “not open to persuasion.” Alysa remained loyal to Team USA, continuing her training in California while wearing the stars and stripes.
This massive decision set the stage for their Olympic debuts. One athlete embraced the host nation flag and the commercial opportunities that followed. The other held fast to the country that had granted her father asylum decades prior.
Colliding Realities at the Beijing Games
The decision of who to represent brought very different consequences for both athletes as the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics arrived. For the Liu family, staying loyal to Team USA resulted in a frightening real world ordeal.
Before the games even began, Alysa and her father became targets of a Chinese government spying operation. A man posing as an Olympic official tried to steal their passport information, prompting the FBI and the United States Department of Justice to intervene. Alysa had to meet with federal agents for her own protection. She later described the surreal situation to Fox News Digital, noting it felt like being a movie character. She bravely competed in Beijing with heavy state security and finished sixth. However, the emotional toll was severe. Arthur Liu later revealed to USA Today that the experience left his daughter traumatized, leading to a temporary retirement from the ice rink.
Eileen Gu experienced a completely different reality in Beijing. She captured two gold medals and a silver, instantly becoming a celebrated global icon. Yet, her athletic triumph was shadowed by intense public scrutiny over her silence regarding human rights issues in her host country. When Time Magazine pressed her about the treatment of minority groups in Xinjiang, Gu firmly distanced herself from the topic.
“I haven’t done the research. I don’t think it’s my business. I’m not going to make big claims on my social media,” Gu answered. She explained that she would need a massive amount of primary source evidence to form an opinion, adding, “It’s irresponsible to ask me to be the mouthpiece for any agenda.”
A Triumphant Return Caught in a Political Crossfire
After stepping away from the ice to heal, Alysa Liu found her way back to competitive skating in 2024. Her return culminated in a historic moment at the Milan Cortina Olympics, where she captured America’s first women’s figure skating gold medal in 24 years. However, the celebration of her triumphant comeback was quickly swept into a much larger political conversation.
Within hours of her stirring performance, commentators and politicians began weaponizing Liu’s victory to criticize Eileen Gu. Pundits praised Liu’s loyalty to the United States while openly condemning Gu’s choice to ski for China. Social media platforms were instantly flooded with direct comparisons between the two California natives, effectively turning their individual athletic achievements into a bitter geopolitical proxy war.
For experts who study race and sports, this narrative is both disappointing and entirely predictable. Cal State Fullerton sociology professor Christina Chin pointed out the inherent flaws in pitting two athletes from completely different sports against one another just because they share a similar heritage.
“There is this ‘who is a good Asian, who is a bad Asian’ question that has come down to these two athletes, who had many factors that went into their decision of who they were going to compete for,” Chin explained.
She noted that society tends to force racial comparisons when looking at two prominent Asian American figures. This intense public framing ignores the deeply complex, personal, and family histories that guided each young woman toward her respective Olympic path.
The True Spirit of Sport
As the Milan Cortina games draw to a close, Eileen Gu faces immense pressure. Heading into her final halfpipe event, she carries the heavy weight of global scrutiny. The backlash has moved far beyond simple online debates. Gu revealed to The Athletic that she has endured terrifying consequences for her choices, stating, “The police were called. I’ve had death threats. I’ve had my dorm robbed.” She acknowledges the harsh reality, noting that people often project their anger at a foreign government onto her simply because of her athletic dominance.
Meanwhile, Alysa Liu hopes her own narrative is remembered for resilience rather than victimhood. When discussing the possibility of her life story becoming a film, she emphasized that her father must be the hero. She wants the spotlight to remain on her family roots and the immense bravery that made her Olympic dreams possible in the first place.
The intense focus on these two champions reveals a troubling trend. When society forces young athletes to carry the burden of international relations, the true spirit of competition is completely lost. These are two incredibly talented women who navigated complex family histories and extraordinary circumstances to reach the top of their fields. Instead of reducing athletes to political symbols or using them as weapons in a culture war, audiences should recognize their humanity. The ultimate takeaway is clear. Fans and critics alike must stop treating athletes as pawns in global conflicts and start letting them simply be athletes.