Korea's Olympic national team suddenly gave up its homeland → earned 126.9 billion won, still hot controversy "What's wrong with the color of my passport?"

*This content was translated by AI.

Freestyle ski star Gu Ailing (22, American name Aileen Gu), who was born in the United States but won two gold medals at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics with a Chinese flag on her chest, will also represent China at the 2026 Milan-Cortina D'Ampezzo Winter Olympics. The controversy over Guai-ling's nationality is still hot even after four years.

"Eileen Gu, who won two gold medals and one silver medal at the Beijing Games, could become the first athlete in the history of freestyle skiing in Milan to win more than three medals," the official Olympic website said on the 31st (Korea Standard Time).

Born in San Francisco, California, the United States, Gu Ailing was born to an American father and a Chinese mother and raised in the United States.

However, Gu I-ling suddenly announced her joining the Chinese national team, her mother's country, in 2019, and became a member of the Chinese national team at the Beijing Olympics.

Gu Ai-ling will also represent China at the Olympics. According to the US 'Fox News', Gu I-ling said in a recent interview with 'Time', "The United States already has a lot of sports stars," adding, "I like to make my own pond."

Gu I-ling then drew the line, saying, "I have never thought that I can make more money on behalf of Chinese companies."

China does not allow dual citizenship in principle. Therefore, Guai-ling must give up his U.S. citizenship if he wants to represent China. However, Guai Ling is avoiding a clear answer to this.

"I don't know why that's important," Guai-ling said, refusing to answer the nationality question, and maintaining an ambiguous attitude, saying, "I don't have a desire to calm this controversy by showing my Chinese passport." In fact, even during the Beijing Olympics, Gu Ai-ling avoided an immediate answer by saying, "I'm an American when I'm in the United States, and I'm Chinese when I'm in China."

Hong Kong's "South China Morning Post" also focused on the issue. The media pointed out, "Gu Ai-ling won two Olympic gold medals four years ago as a teenager, but interest in the color of his passport was as hot as his brilliant performance."

Guai Ling has made astronomical money choosing Chinese nationality. According to data from Forbes, a U.S. economic magazine, Gui-ling recorded a total of $87.4 million (about 126.9 billion won) in cumulative revenue from 2022 to 2025. The "South China Morning Post" described Gu I-ling's income as "the result of working as a luxury brand model rather than profit from ski athletes' activities."

However, public opinion in China is also mixed. Gu Ai Ling is nicknamed the "Frog Princess" on Chinese social networking services (SNS) and is greatly loved. Some criticized Gu I-ling's support for hosting the 2030 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, saying, "What is the motivation to play for China?"

Nevertheless, it is sad that people pay more attention to nationality than to my performance, Gu Ai-ling said. "My goal is to always promote sports to more people."

Despite the controversy, his skills are still there. Guai-ling recently won the World Cup Slopestyle in Rocks, Switzerland, lifting his 20th career World Cup trophy.

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*This content was translated by AI.