Eileen Gu, the California-born athlete who won two gold medals for China in freestyle skiing at the recent Beijing Olympics, has signed on to work for Salt Lake City’s bid for the 2030 or 2034 Winter Olympics.
Tom Kelly, a spokesman for the bid committee, confirmed Gu’s participation to The Associated Press on Tuesday as an “athlete representative.” Gu made the announcement earlier at the Time100 Summit, calling herself an “ambassador.”The choice could be controversial — or inspired.
The state-controlled Chinese media never seemed to raise the issue, initially welcoming the medals she won for her mother’s homeland. Gu attended an assembly of Chinese Olympians in early April at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, where Xi Jinping — the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party — singled her out for recognition.