Who is Eileen Gu and why the fascination?

"You're trying to unite people through sports, which is a great thing, but you are not clear about whether you still have American citizenship and if you'll live in the US or China from now on," said one reporter, waiting for an answer to his statement. "Here's the thing, I am not trying to keep anyone happy. I am an 18-year-old girl out here living my best life."Like, I am having a great time. "I know that I have a good heart, and I know that the reasons for making the decisions I do are based on a greater common interest and is something that I feel is for the greater good."If other people don't really believe that's where I'm coming from then that just reflects that they do not have the empathy to empathise with a good heart, perhaps they don't share the same kinds of morals that I do and in that sense I'm not going to waste my time trying to placate [them]. 'I know how difficult it is'Offering a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse of the toll all the scrutiny and questioning might be taking, came these observations from American snowboard gold medallist Chloe Kim. Kim faced similar scrutiny when she emerged onto the Olympic stage with her Korean parents and their cultural ways, although she chose to compete for the US."Eileen is such a sweetheart," Kim said. "I became really good friends with her over the past couple of years and I'm so proud of her. I know a lot of what she's going through and what she's dealing with right now."Her life probably changed completely, so I'm just doing my best to support her because I was at that place before and I know how difficult it is. Gu clinched gold with her final run in the big-air decider. On a day off, and needing some downtime, Gu travelled from Beijing into the mountains of Zhangjiakou to watch Kim defend her Olympic gold medal.