Bay Area Olympic Stars

12 hours ago
4 min read

By Lauren Law Apr 1, 2026

For Bay Area athletes Alysa Liu and Eileen Gu, winter weekends in Tahoe were training grounds that helped shape their paths to the Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina from Feb. 6 to Feb. 22.

Born on Aug. 8, 2005 in Clovis, California, Liu spent most of her childhood in and around Oakland and Richmond,. Liu’s father, who immigrated to the United States from China and later built a law practice in the Bay Area, structured much of family life around Liu’s skating once he saw her potential. He decided to take Liu to group lessons at the Oakland Ice Center before quickly moving her into more serious training.

Liu rapidly rose through the ranks of U.S. figure skating. At 13 years old, she became the youngest U.S. women’s national champion in history in 2019 and won the title again in 2020. She later competed for Team USA at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, finishing seventh, and won bronze at the 2022 World Championships. Months later, she unexpectedly retired at 16, citing the intense pressure of elite competition and a desire to focus on her mental health and live a more normal teenage life. However, her passion for skating led her to carefully return to the sport in 2024. Working her way back through international events such as the 2024 Counter-Strike Budapest Trophy, Liu earned another spot on Team USA for the Milan and Cortina Winter Olympics.

“Student athletes face similar pressure to Liu—especially from parents who invest heavily in their athletics. I balance my extracurriculars by organizing all of my events like sports, tests and meetings into a calendar. Being able to see my plans helps me feel secure in my time management,” Daniella Cardenas Rojo ‘28 said.

Liu is currently pursuing a psychology degree at the University of California, Los Angeles, a choice that aligns with her interest in understanding mental health and the pressure she experienced in the sport.

Aside from Liu, another Bay Area native has been carving her path in the snow. Born in San Francisco in 2003 to a Chinese immigrant mother and an American father, Gu grew up between San Francisco’s Sea Cliff neighborhood and summers in Beijing, navigating both cultures from an early age. Her mother, a part time ski instructor near Lake Tahoe, introduced her to skiing as a toddler and helped her join a freestyle team in the Tahoe area.

Gu won multiple medals at the Winter X Games and 2021 International Ski and Snowboard Federation Freeski World Championships before emerging onto the global stage at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. There, she won two gold medals and one silver for China in freestyle events. At the 2026 Winter Olympics, Gu solidified her place in the sport’s record books as she left the games as the most decorated female freestyle skier, with a career total of six gold and silver Olympic medals.

Gu has become one of the most polarizing figures in U.S. sports largely because of her decision to compete for China instead of the U.S. —the latter of which being her home country. Before the 2022 Beijing Games, she announced her choice to compete for China, stating that she hoped to inspire Chinese girls to participate in freestyle skiing. In an era of rising nationalism and tensions between the U.S. and China, Gu’s choice has antagonized many. Gu has spoken about receiving death threats, facing harassment on campus and enduring physical assault tied directly to her choice to represent China and her reluctance to directly criticize the Chinese government.

“People are being too harsh on Gu for competing for China. I see it as her embracing both sides of her identity, not ‘switching sides.’ Athletes should have the freedom to represent what matters to them personally. No one deserves hate or threats over a decision like that,” Jae Larabee-Weigand ‘26 said.

Apart from the backlash, Gu has cemented her status as a crossover star who blends elite athleticism with modeling and academic ambitions. She is a Stanford undergraduate majoring in international relations, with interests in quantum physics and philosophy. This academic year, she is taking time off to compete in the Olympics while still balancing remote classes and sorority life. Gu also models for Vogue China, Louis Vuitton and Victoria’s Secret while landing major endorsement deals to fashion weeks from Paris to Shanghai.

From Tahoe trips to Olympic podiums, Liu and Gu embody the Bay Area’s unstoppable drive rooted in immigrant grit and weekend escapes. Their training roots in the Bay Area can pave the way for future athletes by showing that world-class success can grow out of local communities and access to diverse opportunities.

About the Contributors

Lauren Law

Staff Writer

Lauren Law is a senior at Leland High School and this is her second year as a staff writer. She enjoys hanging out with friends, sleeping, and eating.