"On Thursday, a certain freestyle skier will clip her boots on and huck herself down the halfpipe in Livigno, to the feverish anticipation of fans in two countries. Though she was born in the United States and attends Stanford University, she represents and wins medals under the banner of a different nation at the Olympics. She has yet to win a gold medal at the 2026 Games, though halfpipe is her best event, and therefore the one that will draw the most scrutiny."
"I certainly think that somebody who grew up in the United States of America, who benefited from our education system, from the freedoms and liberties that make this country a great place, I would hope that they want to compete with the United States of America, Vance told Fox News. So, I'm going to root for American athletes, and I think part of that is people who identify themselves as Americans. That's who I'm rooting for this Olympics."
Zoe Atkin, a 23-year-old Massachusetts native who attends Stanford, competes for Great Britain in freestyle skiing halfpipe at the 2026 Olympics. She was born in the United States but represents her father's native nation and has won medals for Great Britain. Halfpipe is her strongest discipline and will attract scrutiny because she has not yet won a gold medal at these Games. Eileen Gu, a 22-year-old San Francisco native competing for China, is again winning medals and facing accusations of being a "traitor" from some American nationalists. Critics mentioned include the Free Press, Enes Kanter Freedom, and U.S. vice president JD Vance, whose remarks reveal persistent nationalist expectations about athlete representation.
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