Former American skier Eileen Gu wins her first gold for China

15-year-old Chinese-American skier Eileen Gu has claimed her first-ever victory for China in the Ladies' Freestyle Skiing Slope Obstacles Competition at the Australia-New Zealand Cup.

Eileen Gu attends the Kenzo Menswear Spring Summer 2020 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on June 23, 2019 in Paris, France. [File Photo: WireImage via VCG/Foc Kan]

The win earned Gu 240 marks, giving the teenager a good start in the new season. Gu also won gold in the same competition last year while representing the United States.

Gu announced on her Sina Weibo in June that she switched her citizenship from the United States to China, a move which was also confirmed by the International Ski Federation.

A screenshot shows Eileen Gu announces on her Sina Weibo that she switched her citizenship from the United States to China in June, 2019. [Photo: China Plus]

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

Gu graduated from Stanford University and she used to work part-time as a skiing coach. She started learning to ski at a tender age of three. She won nine national championships at the age of nine, and started to represent the United States in international competitions in 2017.

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

Eileen Gu represents the U.S. in the FIS Free Ski World Cup 2019 Slopestyle Event in Seiser Alm, Italy, January 25, 2019. [File Photo: VCG]