US-born athletes Eileen Gu, Beverly Zhu reportedly receives $6.6M from China at Winter Olympics

The Wall Street Journal reported that the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports listed a $6.6 million allocation in its 2025 budget for two U.S.-born athletes who compete for China: Eileen Gu, also known as Gu Ailing, and Beverly Zhu.

The document was later revised, and their names were removed from the public version.

According to the budget posted in early 2025, the two athletes received nearly 100 million yuan (US$14.47 million), over the past three years.

The 2025 allocation stated that the funds aimed to support “outstanding results in the process of qualifying for the 2026 Winter Olympics.”

The document did not specify how much each athlete received. Given her status as a three-time Olympic medalist, Gu likely accounted for the larger share.

The disclosure sparked debate on Chinese social media at a time when many local governments have tightened public spending.

The Wall Street Journal cited online comments that questioned the size of the support, noting that both athletes already earn substantial income from endorsements. Soon after, the names of Gu and Zhu disappeared from the published budget, along with critical comments.

Gu was born in California, grew up in San Francisco and studies at Stanford University. She represented the United States at the junior level before deciding in 2019 to compete for China, her mother’s homeland. At the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, she won gold medals in big air and halfpipe, along with a silver in slopestyle.

At the current Games in Italy, she has won silver in slopestyle and big air and is set to defend her halfpipe title.

Her decision to compete for China drew attention from the start. The details of state financial support became public only after the budget document revealed them. In China’s state-run sports system, government funding for athletes is common, but specific amounts rarely become public.

Gu ranks fourth among the world’s highest-paid female athletes. Sporty estimates that she earned about $23 million over the past year, almost all from endorsement deals. That places her behind three leading tennis players: Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek.

Her value to China extends beyond medals. She embodies a global young generation, fluent in English and Mandarin, and active in both markets. Each time she competes, the 22-year-old often ranks among the top trending topics on China’s Weibo platform.

U.S. media outlets also continue to cover her extensively, even though she no longer represents the country.

Gu’s nationality has drawn scrutiny. China does not allow dual citizenship, yet she has never publicly clarified her legal status.

Zhu, by contrast, gave up her U.S. citizenship to compete for China. The 23-year-old’s best result was a bronze medal at the 2025 Chinese National Figure Skating Championships.