Eileen Gu, an American-born Olympic skier who competes for China, has been named the Grand Marshall of the 2026 San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade.
Gu won two Olympic Gold Medals and one Silver Medal while competing for the People’s Republic of China in the 2022 Winter Games. Up until 2019, Gu had competed for the United States up until 2019, when she apparently decided that she’d rather represent her nation’s adversary instead.
At just 22-years-old, Gu is one of the most acclaimed female skiers currently competing.
San Francisco has decided to bestow the honorific on the traitorous Olympian anyway, much to the chagrin of those on social media.
Some speculate the reason behind the decision may be monetary. Documents revealed by the French media showed that Gu had an annual training budget over $6.5 million, fully backed by the CCP, a figure the Chinese government has tried to hide.
Endorsement opportunities are reportedly more lucrative when representing the CCP, but Gu has denied that has influenced her decision-making.
“I’m glad that there’s enough money in the sport now for people to think that’s a consideration,” Gu said in an interview with Time Magazine.
Gu will continue to betray her country of birth by representing communist China once again in the 2026 Winter Games.
