Gold medal greats Alysa Liu and Eileen Gu face uncomfortable comparisons at Olympics

The phrase “Be an Alysa Liu” became a mantra for critics of Gu, the American who competes on behalf of China, after Liu’s gold medal win and inspiring backstory.

Eileen Gu; Alysa Liu

Team China women’s freeski big air silver medalist Eileen Gu; Team USA women’s single skating gold medalist Alysa Liu.Getty Images

U.S. figure skater Alysa Liu and Beijing-backed freestyle skier Eileen Gu woke up Friday morning to find themselves in a side-by-side contrast they never asked for, pitted against each other in a geopolitical battle they never sought.

Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content

Hours after Liu’s stirring performance in the free skate on Thursday won her America’s first Olympic women’s figure skating gold in 24 years, the Oakland native was suddenly thrust into association with another native Californian, Gu, the skier who is competing on behalf of China.

More on the Milan Cortina Olympics

Nick Goepper suffers a heart-stopping fall in freeski halfpipe at Olympics
Polish speedskater stretchered off after opponent’s blade slices her face
To win gold, Mikaela Shiffrin needed to hear these words
How to keep up with the Olympics: Stream every moment and every medal of the Games on Peacock. Read the latest updates and interact with our AI chatbot, OLI, on the Olympics hub. And catch up with the top athletes and day’s recaps by signing up for NBC News’ The Sports Desk newsletter.

Rep. Michael Baumgartner, R-Wash., didn’t even need to use words to convey comparisons that blasted out of many conservative circles on Thursday night and Friday.

The “good Asian, bad Asian” narrative disappointed — but didn’t surprise — Cal State Fullerton sociology professor Christina Chin.

“We have two totally different sports. But yet there’s a tendency that if there’s two of them, then we must compare, we must make a racial comparison,” said Chin, who has published works on Asian Americans in sports.

“There’s this ‘who’s a good Asian, who’s a bad Asian’ question that’s come down to these two athletes, who had many factors that went into their decision of who they were going to compete for,” Chin said.

Gu has been one of her sport’s most divisive figures for two Olympic cycles. The daughter of a Chinese immigrant mother, Gu was born and raised in Northern California but chose to compete under the People’s Republic of China flag.

The Beijing-supported athlete won two golds and a silver in the last Winter Games. When Liu stood on top of the podium on Thursday, Gu had captured two silvers in Italy.

The PRC star added another gold to her resume on Sunday as China went 1-2 on the halfpipe. So in total, Gu has delivered three golds and three silvers to China, making her the most decorated freestyle skier in Olympics history.