Why ex-U.S. Olympic medalist Gus Kenworthy is competing for Britain in Beijing
Gus Kenworthy won silver for the United States as a freestyle skier in the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
He's back for his third Olympics in Beijing as a 30-year-old elder statesmen of the youth-dominated sport. But he won't be competing for the United States. He'll take on the halfpipe next week competing for Great Britain instead.
Kenworthy, who's made headlines for adopting puppies in both PyeongChang and Sochi, also made waves when he came out as gay in 2015. His story in Beijing — leading up to the Games, at least — is his allegiance switch.
Why Kenworthy initially competed for U.S.
Kenworthy was born in Chelmsford, England, but moved with his family to Telluride, Colorado, when he was two years old. He has dual citizenship and told GQ recently that he initially chose to compete for the United States because he considered himself an American.
"I was like, I feel like I am American," Kenworthy told GQ in a Q&A. "I live in the States. After weighing it, I thought it was still the right decision to go for the U.S."
Longstanding grievance lingered for Kenworthy
And so he did. He won silver for Team USA in slopestyle in 2014 and competed again for the U.S. in the same event in PyeongChang in 2018, finishing 12th. But something didn't sit right with Kenworthy. He competes in halfpipe as well and qualified for a spot in the event with Team USA in 2014. He told GQ that coaches instead awarded his spot to Torin Yater-Wallace, which they have the discretion to do.
“It was just so cut-and-dried, the way they did it," Kenworthy told GQ. "I think that they didn't take into consideration that I'm a human being [who's] spent his whole life basically to get that spot. Even if they were going to make that decision — which is ultimately their call — I still feel like they could have handled it a lot more gently, because it was hurtful.”
His mom also factored in
He said that the decision continued to weigh on him and that he didn't feel that halfpipe coaches made an effort to mend the situation. As the Beijing Games approached, he also took his mom into consideration. His dad Peter is originally from Philadelphia. His mom Heather is from England, hence Kenworthy's dual citizenship. He wants to compete for his mom this time.
“I feel like these are going to be my last Olympic Games for sure," Kenworthy told NBC in 2019 after deciding to make the switch. "I just wanted to do it for my mom. She’s held up the American flag for me for two Games now, and I would love to be able to hold up the British flag for her for one."
Then there are practical considerations. Competition is stiff and the process to qualify is grueling for Team USA. It's apparently less so for Britain.
"And it also will allow me to qualify and not be in this position where two months before the Games, I'm scrambling to earn my spot against a bunch of the other best guys in the world," Kenworthy told GQ. "And I could bring more interest, hopefully to Great Britain for the sport that they're not really known for, and bring more funding to the British team."
So the next time you see Kenworthy, he won't be competing for Team USA. But he will — finally — get his shot at the halfpipe as an Olympian.
