US-born athlete who represented China in Olympics awarded Greatest Breakthrough Athlete ESPY

ESPN gave a U.S.-born athlete who competed for China within the Olympics the Greatest Breakthrough Athlete ESPY award on Wednesday.

Eileen Gu, who was born in San Francisco to a Chinese language mom, represented China within the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing relatively than her native United States. The younger athlete received two gold medals for China in freestyle skating, in line with ESPN.

EILEEN GU SHOULD NOT BE PART OF THE US BID FOR THE OLYMPICS

"I additionally wish to share this second with all of the unimaginable pioneering feminine athletes who've come earlier than me, who paved the way in which for individuals like me," she stated throughout her acceptance speech. "Additionally to the younger women who're going to come back after me and who're going to be the change makers and who're going to push it one step additional nearer to equality." She completed by thanking her mom and grandmother earlier than a short message in Mandarin.

In an Instagram submit, Gu introduced in 2019, at age 15, that she was selecting to symbolize China within the 2022 Winter Olympics.

"I'm pleased with my heritage, and equally pleased with my American upbringings. The chance to assist encourage tens of millions of younger individuals the place my mother was born, through the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Video games is a once-in-a-lifetime alternative to assist to advertise the game I like. By way of snowboarding, I hope to unite individuals, promote widespread understanding, create communication, and forge friendships between nations," she wrote.

On condition that the Worldwide Olympic Committee holds that athletes should maintain passports for the nations they symbolize and China would not enable twin citizenship, Gu would have needed to surrender her U.S. citizenship, as famous in an ESPN profile. She has refused to touch upon whether or not or not she renounced her U.S. citizenship. She has additionally refused to touch upon the Chinese language authorities's human rights file, even when requested instantly.

In February 2019, she traveled to China to seem subsequent to Chinese language President Xi Jinping when he gave a speech urging Chinese language athletes to win medals as a way to contribute to "the nation’s nice rejuvenation," in line with the Economist. Gu and her sponsors have by no means acknowledged this encounter. In October, she starred in a Chinese language movie that opened in Xinjiang province, close to the place the Chinese language authorities is accused of detaining 1 million Uyghur Muslims in focus camps.

Regardless of her refusal to touch upon political points in China, Gu is extremely vocal about social justice points within the U.S., corresponding to her help for the Black Lives Matter motion or talking out towards anti-Asian bigotry, in line with the South China Morning Publish.