Skier Jen Hudak called out fellow American-born skier Eileen Gu on Tuesday for competing with China in the 2022 Winter Olympics.
“It is not my place to judge, but Eileen is from California, not from China, and her decision [to ski for China] seems opportunistic,” said Hudak, according to the New York Post. Hudak is a former 2-time world champion who retired in 2014 due to knee injuries.
“She became the athlete she is because she grew up in the United States, where she had access to premier training grounds and coaching that, as a female, she might not have had in China. I think she would be a different skier if she grew up in China,” Hudak told the Post.
Gu, the world’s top female skier, announced in a June 2019 that she would compete for China “to unite people, promote common understanding [and] create communication,” according to The Washington Post.
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Her father was born in the United States while her mother is from China, the New York Post reported.
Gu’s decision was praised in China, where she is already a celebrated athlete with lucrative endorsement deals, according to the Washington Post.
In the United States, however, her decision has been met with criticism in light of revelations of Chinese human rights abuses and the Uyghur genocide. (RELATED: ‘Uighur Alarms’ Just The Latest In Long List Of China’s Worst Human Rights Abuses)
“This makes me sad,” Hudak said, according to the New York Post. “It would be nice to see the medals going to America.”
The 2022 Winter Olympics begin Friday, Feb. 4, and run through Sunday, Feb. 20.