National Pride 🇺🇸 🇨🇳 🇬🇧
Sometimes where you're from isn't where you're from
New Olympic event Ski Big Air lived up to expectations last night when China’s Eileen Gu won gold while tennis player Peng Shuai looked on:
Gu has been in the news a lot lately. Born and raised in San Francisco, and trained by Team USA, Gu chose instead to represent her mother’s home country of China in the Olympics. Her choice is not one made for convenience sake - she is favored to win three medals - but from deep ties to her Chinese heritage. She spends part of each year in China, speaks Mandarin with a strong Beijing accent, and was there when Beijing was awarded these games. The choice is also pragmatic. Gu is not only a skier but also a model and an influencer, and China has a lot of people to model for and influence. That CHN next to her name as she won gold last night was likely worth tens of millions of sponsorship dollars yuan.
Eileen Gu’s circumstances may be unique, but her situation is far from it. American silver medalist in Sochi Gus Kenworthy will trade the Stars and Stripes for the Union Jack this winter; his mother is British and he was born there. He made the switch based on the easier, less competitive qualification process.
Sometimes athletes choose their national affiliation to draw attention to their sport. Haitian skier Richardson Viano was adopted as a baby, and has lived in France since age 3. He planned to ski for France until the Haitian Ski Federation (actually a thing) asked him to represent his birthplace.
No matter what flag they are wearing on their backs, all Olympians stand equal at the starting line.
What You Missed Last Night
If you like fast-pace, head-to-head action, check out the Snowboard Parallel Giant Slalom. Sixteen boarders face off in an elimination bracket to crown gold.
There’s also plenty of Cross Country and Biathlon for comfort background viewing.
(Reminder: How to Watch)
What To Watch Today
Catch CURLING! and some very fast ladies over breakfast; then more fast ladies skiing and everyone defying gravity in the evening.
(Reminder: How to Watch)
In Other Olympic News…
NPR: Dutch speedskater Ireen Wüst is the 1st athlete to win individual gold at 5 Olympics
AP: Closed steel mill sends Olympic skiers - not smoke - skyward
LA Times: Defying the odds, a Mexican figure skater’s unlikely path to the Olympics
Photos of the Day - Special All Falls Edition
