Perspectives Sports

Zhu Yi, US-born figure skater competing for China, slammed for poor showing

2022-02-06
Smittah

An American-born figure skater who renounced her US citizenship to compete for China at the Winter Olympics is being slammed on the country’s most popular social media app Sunday after a disappointing performance.

Zhu Yi, 19, who skated onto the ice to cheers, fell twice during the women’s short program team event, knocking the host country down from third to fifth place.

“Zhu Yi has fallen” immediately became the top trending topic on Weibo — the Chinese equivalent of Twitter — after her poor showing, racking up 200 million views in mere hours, according to CNN.

The figure skater, who was recruited by China to join their team and gave up US citizenship to do so, crashed into the wall during her routine and fell again during the short performance.

Yi Zhu of Team China competes during the Women Single Skating Short Program Team Event
Zhu Yi of Team China competes during the Women Single Skating Short Program Team Event.
Ni Minzhe/CHINASPORTS/VCG via Getty Images
Zhu Yi
Zhu Yi renounced her US citizenship to compete for China.
Instagram/@beverly.zhu
Zhu Yi
Zhu Yi’s performance knocked China down from third to fifth place.
Instagram/@beverly.zhu

“This is such a disgrace,” a commentator wrote on Weibo, receiving 11,000 likes, according to CNN.

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