Almost 2.000 athletes are fighting or have fought in various disciplines at Winter Olympics in Italy, but a battle is also taking place online.
At the center of this battle are Eileen Gu, a freestyle skier, and Alyssa Liu, a figure skater.
They have a lot in common: both are young women of Chinese-American descent who were born and raised in the United States.
And both are champions in their disciplines.
Yet, one is called a champion and patriot, and the other is declared a traitor.
At least that is the case in the eyes of some in the US.
On Chinese social media, it's the other way around.
Why?
Liu, the daughter of a political activist who fled China after deadly crackdown by authorities on protesters decades ago, competes under the American flag.
And Gu, whose mother moved to the US for higher education, often spent her summer vacations in Beijing.
She represents China in Milan, and four years ago she was at the Beijing Games - where she was a 'home' competitor.
This seems to annoy some Americans.
"Eileen Gu competes for China and gets millions for it."
"Alisa Liu is the daughter of a Chinese immigrant who participated in the Tiananmen Square protests. In the world of Eileen 'Gus' (goose), be Alice Liu," a post on the Xu network read.
Much of this backlash seems to be driven by political commentators and a vocal minority on X, rather than the general public or the sports world.
At the heart of the debate is the rivalry between the US and China - the world's two largest economies are constantly competing for dominance in everything from trade, to the military and weapons, to technology.
And so, a narrow but vocal section of the internet pits the two women against each other, questioning their loyalties and identities, while simultaneously examining their immigrant experiences.
And they add to the pressure they already face as athletes.
'Snow Princess' and 'Patriot'
Known in China by the nickname "Snow Princess", Eileen Gu was born in California to a Chinese mother and an American father.
She was raised by her mother, Yan Gu - reportedly a successful businesswoman with degrees from Peking University and Stanford.
Gu grew up firmly positioned in both worlds, spending summers in Beijing and the rest of the semesters at a private school in San Francisco.
She began freeskiing at the age of three in the Lake Tahoe region, and five years later joined the Northstar California Resort team.
Just a year later, when she was nine years old, she became national champion.
She initially skied for the USA before moving to Team China in 2019 in preparation for the 2022 Winter Olympics in the Chinese capital Beijing.
Gu said she wants to "inspire millions of young people in Beijing - my mother's birthplace."
This decision was welcomed enthusiastically by many in China.
She won two gold and one silver medal at the 2022 Olympic Games.
In the years that followed, Gu established herself as a true sports icon in China.
Millions of people on Chinese social media follow her every move, leaving heart-shaped emojis under her posts.
Chinese state media outlet Global Times called her "a role model for the whole world."
She is one of the highest-paid athletes in the world, reportedly earning around $23 million a year.
Her decision to compete under the Chinese flag initially drew significant backlash.
In addition to rivalry with the US, people pointed to authoritarian leaders Communist Party of China, the country's poor reputation for respecting human rights and stifling and restricting freedom of speech.
But the outcry largely subsided - until the Winter Olympics in Italy.
The storm began last week, when Olympian Hunter Hess was asked what it was like to represent the United States given the polarizing situation in the country, especially regarding violent raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minnesota in which two people were killed.
He replied that he had "mixed feelings" about it.
"Just because I perform under the American flag doesn't mean I represent everything that happens in the United States," Hess said.
President Donald Trump responded to Hess's comment by calling him a "true loser" who "should not have even been on the U.S. Olympic team."
Many athletes came to Hess' defense, including Gu: "As someone who has already been caught in the crossfire, I feel sorry for the athletes."
Her comments angered her critics, who said that Gu may have criticized Trump but had never publicly spoken out against China.
Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom was among them, calling Gu a "traitor."
"He was born in America, raised in America, lives in America, and chose to compete against his country for the worst human rights violator on the planet - China."
"You cannot enjoy the freedoms that come with American citizenship while acting as a global PR agent for the Chinese Communist Party," he wrote in a lengthy post on X.
"Does Eileen Gu have any critical attitude towards To Xi Jinping (President of China) for genocide, slavery, and the arrest of dissidents?” wrote Matt Whitlock, a self-proclaimed Republican communicator, on X.
Western governments, human rights groups and the United Nations have repeatedly accused Beijing of serious human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Tibet, as well as for the swift violent suppression of any protests and repression of dissent across the country.
The Chinese government denies the allegations and says they are internal matters.
"Many American-born athletes compete for other countries without much fanfare. However, the climate of the 'New Cold War' between the US and China has changed the roles," says Professor Jinan He of Lehigh University.
"Personal identity is increasingly centered on national loyalty in the public eye, reducing tolerance for 'deviant' or dual identities," he believes.
Earlier this week, Gu said she felt like she was “skiing with the weight of two countries on her shoulders,” after losing gold in the women’s slopestyle in a duel with a Swiss woman.
Her fall in the deciding series was followed enthusiastically by many Americans on social media.
Although some interpreted her fall as a moment of vulnerability, her statement appears to have angered critics once again.
Some took offense at her claim that the "weight" of the US was on her: "She represented only one country, not ours."
Soon, many on the internet began comparing her to Alice Liu - an athlete who returned this year, winning a gold medal for the US figure skating team.
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Eileen Gu is the only freestyle athlete at the 2026 Winter Olympics to compete in three disciplines: slopestyle, halfpipe, and big air.
She has already won a silver medal in slopestyle and is now in the big era final.
Who is Alisa Liu?
The 20-year-old is the daughter of Arthur Liu, who fled China after participating in anti-government demonstrations in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
The student pro-democracy movement ended in a brutal massacre in Beijing.
It is almost never talked about, and any mention of it is quickly censored.
Her family history could partly explain why there aren't many posts about Liu on Chinese social media.
Those who praise her usually have comments like, "Why are you praising this person? Her entire family is anti-Chinese."
Liu grew up in California, cared for by her father, and began skating at a young age.
At the age of 13, she became the youngest athlete to win the U.S. Women's Figure Skating Championship.
In 2019, Arthur Liu claimed that he was the target of a spy operation that the US Department of Justice claims was ordered by the Chinese government.
His daughter says that in 2022, US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents told her that she and her family were believed to be being monitored by the Chinese government.
Her father's background and the possibility that her family is still being targeted because of it certainly brought sympathy and admiration for Liu.
On the other hand, it also seems to fuel criticism directed at Eileen Gu.
The divide between Liu and Gu is not just “nationalism, but also a class issue and a perception of connection and identification with one of them,” says Professor He.
“Gu is the epitome of luxury culture - private schools, Stanford.
"Her choice to compete for China is often viewed through this prism: 'pure business decision and an opportunity to make good money,'" he explains.
A post on the non-profit group Asians for Freedom on X goes in this direction:
"The Chinese Communist Party lures American athletes with promises of wealth and fame, but a true American will reject it."
"Alisa Liu is an American patriot."
Watch a video of the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations and the famous photo
“All of this shapes the way the media and the public perceive Liu and Gu, who are portrayed roughly as good and bad immigrants,” says Professor Richard King of Columbia College in Chicago.
Chinese-Australian dissident artist Badiuchiao (Badiucao), known for his works criticizing the Chinese Communist Party, recently published drawings of these two athletes.
One featured Liu in front of a tank at Tiananmen Square, a reference to her father's activism, and another featured Gu holding a Chinese flag with bodies hidden underneath, a not-so-subtle reference to the accusations against Beijing.
Far-right news and opinion website The daily caller, founded by political commentator Tucker Carlson, went further in the article: "Meet Eileen Gu, the real villain of the Winter Olympics."
All of this also reveals “an incredibly precarious social and political landscape that Asian Americans have to navigate,” says Professor Stanley Tangaraj of Stonehill College.
"They and their rights are only partially recognized, and every political act immediately distances them from the US."
Some prominent Asian Americans have sided with Gu.
Marvel actor Simu Liu said he was "very proud" of Gu, calling her "inspiring, resilient, intelligent and bilingual."
But then he too faced a wave of negative reactions, and there were even comments telling him to "go back to China."
As the Winter Olympics continue, it seems that the performances and achievements of both athletes are at a standstill when it comes to discussions on social media.
"Although both athletes share the same racial background and first-generation immigrant experiences, they are presented as opposing archetypes in a narrative that they did not create and write," says Professor He.
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