Winter Olympics 2026: How Elaine Jo divides opinion

On skates and off, Gu is a high achiever in every part of her world.

Born in California and raised by an American father and a Chinese mother, she attended a private school in San Francisco, and is currently taking a leave of absence from her studies at Stanford University, where she majors in international relations and previously studied quantum physics.

She is also fluent in Mandarin, and spent summers in Beijing as a child.

“Sometimes I feel like I’m carrying the weight of two countries on my shoulders,” Joe said earlier during the 2026 Olympics.

In 2019, when she was just 15 years old, she switched her sporting allegiance from the United States to China, wanting to “inspire millions of young people in Beijing – my mother’s hometown” ahead of the 2022 Olympics.

Whatever her reasons, it was a profitable decision.

In December, Forbes ranked Go as the fourth-highest-paid athlete of 2025, behind only tennis players Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek.

But unlike those three, only a small amount of her $23.1m (£17.1m) income last year came from prize money in her sport – around $100,000 (£74,000).

Instead, it comes through endorsements for brands such as Red Bull, Porsche and Tiffany & Co, while she has walked the catwalk for Louis Vuitton and Victoria’s Secret and signed with modeling agency IMG.

It also appeared in 2025, as reported in the Wall Street Journal, externalreported that Joe and another athlete were set to receive a total of $6.6 million (£4.9 million) from the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau.

In total, the two athletes were said to have been paid nearly $14m (£10.4m) over the past three years by the office.

But its decision to compete on behalf of China has also drawn a great deal of criticism, not only over the rivalry between China and the United States as the world’s two largest economies, but also over China’s authoritarian Communist Party rulers and its poor human rights record – something China denies.

Although the initial hype has died down, it has reared its head again in these games.

At the start of the Olympics, American freestyle skier Hunter Hess spoke publicly about the actions of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and ongoing tensions in the United States.

In January, intensive care nurse Alex Pretty, 37, and fellow Minnesota resident Renee Judd, 37, were killed by ICE agents in the city, sparking widespread protests.

Asked what it means to represent the United States, Hess said: “It’s a little difficult.

“Just because I’m wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that happens in the United States.”

President Donald Trump responded to Hess’ comment by calling him a “real loser,” and Joe was one of many athletes who publicly defended Hess and others who spoke out.

“As someone who has been caught in the crossfire before, I feel sorry for the athletes,” she said.

But that angered her critics, given that Gu chose to speak out against Trump but never criticized China.

Former basketball player Enes Kanter Freedom called her a “traitor,” adding that she was “born in America, raised in America, lives in America, and chose to compete against her country against the worst human rights violator on the planet – China.”

“You cannot enjoy the freedoms of American citizenship while serving as a global PR asset for the Chinese Communist Party,” he wrote on X.

When asked by Time magazine about China’s human rights record, externalIn an interview published in January, she replied: “I’m not an expert on this.

“I didn’t do the research. I don’t think it’s any of my business.”