Eileen Gu is at the top of her sport. Now, she’s out to fight ‘the bad guys’

Eileen Gu is the most decorated female freestyle skier in Olympic history yet she's faced more criticism and online vitriol than ever over her decision to compete for China instead of the United States, where she was born and raised. She's been telling CNN's Amanda Davies at the high-profile watchmaking show – Watches and Wonders – in Geneva, Switzerland of her experiences in dealing with the hate she faces and how and why she's now taking the fight to "the bad guys. " - Clipped From Video Eileen Gu is never one to shirk a challenge.

From exploring the boundaries of quantum physics as a Stanford undergrad to becoming one of the world’s highest-earning female athletes , her potential on and off the slope is seemingly limitless. Now, as the most decorated athlete in her sport, the 22-year-old is at the peak of her powers. Yet for all the stardom and success, controversy and vitriol follows, due to her unrivalled success and decision to compete for China instead of the United States, where she was born and raised.

That decision was taken back in 2019 and the paradox of adulation and anger that has since followed is something the phenom has, for better or worse, learned to live with. “When I was a little bit younger, I think I defined success as how easy can I make it look,” speaking to CNN Sports as an IWC Schaffhausen ambassador at the watchmaking show, Watches and Wonders, in Geneva, Switzerland. “And then as I got older, I realized that the more successful you become, the more people hate you for it.

“And when you’re not the underdog anymore, then it’s easier to root for the next person. I don’t resent that at all. ” If she can do it, I can Back in 2022, an 18-year-old Gu was that underdog, albeit a generational one.