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As American-born Team China skier Eileen Gu faces increasing scrutiny at the Winter Olympics, two other Americans competing in Milan Cortina have spoken out in support of the controversial medalist.
Team USA veteran women’s skeleton athlete Kelly Curtis, who also serves as a staff sergeant in the Air Force, admits she didn’t think much of Gu’s decision to represent China over the United States. Still, Curtis insists that she only respects Gu because of her talent and accomplishments.
“I honestly haven’t thought about it that much. She’s the most decorated freestyle skier, so she’s at the top of her game and I have nothing but respect for her,” Curtis told Pakinomist Digital.
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Silver medalist Eileen Gu of China poses for photos after the award ceremony of the freestyle skiing women’s freeski big air event at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, February 16, 2026. (Photo by Wang Peng/Xinhua via Getty Images) (Wang Peng/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, another American citizen who chooses to represent another country at the Olympics directly supports Gu’s decision to compete for China.
Team Israel bobsled captain AJ Edelman, who grew up in New England, has chosen to represent Israel in skeleton at the Beijing 2022 Winter Games and in bobsled this year. He previously told Pakinomist Digital that despite being a proud American, he would never consider representing the United States over Israel.
Edelman asked those who have criticized her for choosing China.
“Every single athlete has a different athletic journey, and every single athlete chooses a path in their life of that athletic journey that is there and that is alone. I think it is incredibly inappropriate for anyone to demand the service of someone in the sport for a specific reason that is not of that athlete’s own volition,” Edelman told Pakinomist Digitalism.
“When it comes to Eileen or any other athlete representing another country … it’s nobody’s right to question that. It’s absolutely inappropriate and extreme.”
Edelman compared Gu’s decision to his own choice to represent Israel.
“Every athlete is free to choose the athletic path they take, and I will respect that. In terms of my own decision to represent a country that is not the United States, I chose to do something that I thought would have an impact in a certain community. And I felt that community would be best impacted through appearance or through representation through the State of Israel,” he added.
However, Edelman made financial sacrifices to compete for Israel, which has a bobsleigh team with far fewer resources than the United States
He previously told Pakinomist Digital that he had to live below the poverty line to maintain his commitment to managing the Israeli team for the past 13 years, and he had to sell all his bitcoin, which he says would have been worth millions today if he had stuck with it.
“It was all spent bobsledding,” he said. “I’d be a mega-millionaire if I still had it.”
Gu, meanwhile, has become a multi-millionaire while representing China.
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Gu is the highest paid Winter Olympic athlete in the world and earn an estimated $23 million by 2025 alone amid partnerships with Chinese companies, including the Bank of China, and Western companies. Gu has said she represents China for her mother, who was born there.
The The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Gu and Zhu Yi, another American-born figure skater now competing for China, were paid $6.6 million by the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau in 2025 to “strive for excellent results in qualifying for the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics.” In total, the two were reportedly paid nearly $14 million over the past three years.
Meanwhile, Gu has not addressed the alleged human rights abuses by China.
In an interview with TIME Magazine, Gu was asked about her thoughts on China’s alleged persecution of Uighurs and other Turkic Muslim minorities in Xinjiang.
“I didn’t do the research. I don’t think it’s my business. I don’t want to make big claims on my social media,” Gu replied.
“I’m just more of a skeptic when it comes to data in general… So it’s not like I can read an article and say, ‘Oh, yeah, that must be the truth.’ I need a ton of evidence. I might go to the place, maybe talk to 10 primary source people who are in a place and have experienced life there. Then I’ll go out and see pictures. I have to listen to recordings. I have to think about how the story affects that. Then I have to read books about how politics affects it. This is a lifelong search…
“It’s irresponsible to ask me to be a mouthpiece for any agenda.”
Gu admitted she has felt like a “punching bag” amid the backlash this winter.
“I do,” Gu said when asked if she feels “like a bit of a punching bag for a certain part of American politics,” according to USA Today.
“So many athletes compete for another country … People only have a problem with me doing that because they kind of lump China into this monolithic entity and they just hate China. So it’s not really about what they think it’s about. And also because I win. Like if I wasn’t feeling well I think they probably wouldn’t care and that’s ok with me. People are entitled to their opinions.”
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Eileen Gu of Team People’s Republic of China falls in the Women’s Freeski Halfpipe Qualification 1 on day thirteen of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics at Livigno Air Park on February 19, 2026 in Livigno, Italy. (Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Gu has previously said that she was “physically assaulted“for her decision to represent China.
“The police were called. I’ve had death threats. I’ve had my dorm robbed,” Gu told The Athletic. “I’ve been through some things as a 22-year-old that I really think no one should ever have to endure, ever.”
