Eileen Gu: Navigating two cultures, judged by both of them

Silver medal winner China's Eileen Gu celebrates during the venue award ceremony for the women's slopestyle finals at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Photos: AP

She is an exceptional athlete who has already won medals in the Beijing Olympics. But the deep fascination with Eileen Gu's origin story has threatened to overshadow anything she does on the slopes.

As the freestyle skier chases gold in the mountains northwest of Beijing, some competing narratives about her have taken hold, from California to China.