Chinese American skier Eileen Gu switches citizenship to China

Eileen Gu, a 15-year-old Chinese American freestyle skier, announced on Sina Weibo that she switched her citizenship on Thursday from the United States to China.

[Photo: Weibo.com]

According to the Shanghai-based news agency The Paper, Eileen Gu was born in the United States to a father from the U.S. and a mother from China. Despite growing up in the United States, she speaks fluent Chinese.

Eileen graduated from Stanford University and used to work part-time as a skiing coach, after learning to ski at the age of three. She won nine national champions at the age of nine, and started to represent the United States in international competition in 2017.

Eileen Gu. [Photo: Weibo.com]

She says that she hopes to attend the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

The International Ski Federation has recognized her change in citizenship.