Winter Olympics 2026: China reportedly paid U.S.-born athletes, including Eileen Gu, nearly $14 million
Eileen Gu’s citizenship has been the subject of scrutiny and debate ever since she decided to run under the flag of China and not her native United States.
She was born in San Francisco and said her decision to switch her allegiance back in 2019 had everything to do with her mother “inspiring” the kids in her home country at the Olympics. That would be the 2022 Beijing Games, where Gu won two golds and a silver for China in freestyle skiing.
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Since then he has become a millionaire many times; The main reason for this was not his skiing, but his online presence and support. She became the fourth highest-earning female athlete in 2025, earning more than $23 million. According to Sportico, All but $20,000 of that $23 million came from endorsements.
Now he’s back at the Olympics, he’s still competing for China and is reportedly getting paid handsomely for it.
According to the Wall Street JournalGu and Zhu Yi, American-born figure skaters who currently compete for China, were paid a total of $6.6 million by the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau in 2025 for “trying to achieve 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.
The payments were revealed when the budget of the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau was published online under the names of Gu and Zhu. Their names have since been removed from the public report.
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Gu already has a silver medal in Slopestyle in Italy, while Zhu, who is Los Angeles-born Beverly Zhu, is not competing at the 2026 Games.
“Sometimes it feels like I’m carrying the weight of two countries on my shoulders,” Gu said after winning the silver medal in Slopestyle. “To be able to ski through it all, you know. Still showing my best and still being so deeply in love with the sport.”
“This is what I really care about and I’m so happy to represent that today.”
Gu’s citizenship remains a mystery. China does not allow dual citizenship, meaning Gu was apparently forced to give up his US passport.
Gu will compete in two more events: the women’s halfpipe and big air.
