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Beverly Zu, 19, who changed her name to Zhu Yi to compete for the Communist country, finished with the lowest score of the event at Beijing's Capital Indoor Stadium yesterday after she failed to land a jump and fell on the opening combination, and botched another jump later in her short program.
Today, the figure skater, who has faced widespread scorn from many in her adopted country, broke down in tears on the ice after falling again in the free skate - the final event in the team competition.
It comes just a day after Zhu was branded a 'disgrace' by fellow countrymen for finishing last and knocking China from third to fifth place in the team event.
Yesterday the 19-year-old, who has previously come under fire from Chinese fans on the social media platform Weibo, scored 47.03 after she tumbled on her first combination triple flip-triple toe-loop jump, crashed into the wall, and bungled her triple loop later in the set while skating to Paint It Black by The Rolling Stones.
The fall triggered a backlash on Chinese social media that critiqued her performance and raised questions about her selection for the Olympic team.
The hashtag 'Zhu Yi has fallen' quickly began trending on China's Twitter-like Weibo platform, gaining 200 million views in just a few hours as some took to social media to slam the athlete.
However some members of the Chinese public urged sympathy and said 'she represents China'.
A man, who gave his surname as Hu, told Reuters in Beijing: 'As long as she represents China, or no matter which country she represents, even though she fell down, we have to be tolerant.
'There should be no politicisation and narrow-mindedness to treat this matter, sportsmanship must come first.'
Meanwhile Hu Xijin, a prolific commentator who recently retired as editor-in-chief of the nationalist Global Times tabloid, said on his official Weibo account that the attacks on Zhu were speculative and 'too much'.
'I hope that some people will stop humiliating themselves and our country without any bottom line,' he said, defending the decision by Zhu, who was born and raised in the United States in a Chinese immigrant family, to represent China.
China has staffed some Olympic sports with foreign-born players, such as its ice hockey teams for the Beijing Games.
Freestyle skier Gu, whose Chinese name is Ailing and who is one of Team China's most popular athletes, was also born and raised in the US. Her decision to compete for China has been criticized by Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
'Chinese netizens generally like Gu Ailing but their rebuke of Zhu Yi is rude and uncalled for,' Hu said. 'I want to say that we should all be more open-minded than Fox and more civilized.'
Gu also trended heavily on Weibo on Monday after participating in the Big Air qualifier.
Zhu decided in 2018 to compete for China in the Olympics and changed her name and gave up her American citizenship, however, she is still facing criticism for not being fluent in Chinese.
Her poor debutant performance also now has some questioning why the California-born skater was picked to represent China instead of a figure skater who was born in the country.
Zhu was born in Los Angeles to Chinese parents and given the name Beverly, and grew up with a privileged background.
Her father, Zhu Songchun, is an award-winning scientist who joined the staff at Beijing's Peking University in 2020. He previously worked at the University of California, Los Angeles.
The
Olympian started figure skating when she was seven years old.
In 2018, she won the novice division while competing at the United States Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, California.
Later that year, she made the decision to represent China in the Olympics, a move that followed the nation's efforts to attract top athletes to their team.
She surrendered her American citizenship so she could compete for China and subsequently changed her name to Zhu Yi.
Zhu, during her first season skating for China, finished fourth at the 2019 Chinese Figure Skating Championships in Harbin. She then won bronze at the Sofia Trophy.
The young skater also took 11th place on her ISU Grand Prix debut at the 2019 Cup of China.
While analysts argued it was unlikely that Zhu would be in medal contention during the Winter Olympic games, she faced a lot of pressure ahead of her debut.
After her last-place performance, the skater was reportedly inconsolable.
'I'm upset and a little embarrassed,' Zhu told the media. 'I counted over and over again last night to see how many points I need to collect today to help my team advance.'
'I guess I felt a lot of pressure because I know everybody in China was pretty surprised with the selection for ladies' singles and I just really wanted to show them what I was able to do but unfortunately I didn't,' she added.
Despite her failed performance, Chinese figure skater and two-time world bronze medalist Jin Boyang, 24, has asked that people grace Zhu with kindness.
'Zhu is a hard-working girl, and should not be blamed for her first performance on the Olympic stage, whether it's good or bad,' he told Xinhua News.
Jin, who argued it's understandable for an Olympic debutant to fumble in their performance, believed the young skater was likely under a lot of pressure.
'I fully understand her position. I was there too,' he explained. 'She's under huge pressure as China's last performer in the team event short program and the sole skater in women's figure skating, especially after her selection over the two other girls.
He added: 'The Olympic Winter Games is a lifetime opportunity for every competitor. Hopefully we can gain more strength from the fact that we've gone all out and made history and leave the frustration of past errors behind us.'
However, many Chinese citizens did not take well to Zhu's fumble with sympathy and instead blasted her on social media.
'Zhu Yi has fallen' was trending on Chinese social media platform Weibo, with some users slamming her for alleged false patriotism.
'Please let her learn Chinese first, before she talks about patriotism,' one Weibo user wrote.
'This is such a disgrace,' another commented, gaining 11,000 likes from other users.
'Anyone would question how she was chosen to the team. Is it because she has a scientist father?' echoed another.
One Weibo user added: 'Zhu Yi, how ridiculous your performance is! How dare you skate for China? You cannot even hold a candle to an amateur!' echoed another.
Waiting for a storm that belongs to Zhu Yi, but really. What is this slipping?' a different user stated.
Although the 19-year-old was mostly met with derision, a few Weibo users offered her some kindness.
'I hope people don't say this (insults) to Zhu,' one wrote.
'The level of our team is still far behind Russia and the US. It already showed courage by coming to the stage. No one who competes for the first time can perform perfectly. It's okay if she can adjust her condition in the next competition,' said another.
China has recruited at least a dozen foreign-born athletes in recent years to compete on its Olympic teams, CNN reported, with Zhu being one of them.
Analysts allege the social media attack on the performer highlights the pressure naturalized athletes face while competing under the Chinese flag.
California-born athlete, freestyle ski star Ailing Gu, also joined China's team. She announced her intent to switch in June 2019.
However, unlike Zhu, 18-year-old Gu has allegedly charmed the China's public by speaking fluent Mandarin and being well versed in Chinese culture. The teen had grown up spending summers in Bejing.
Some argue Gu has become China's unofficial face of the Winter Olympics. She has been heavily featured in state media coverage and advertisements for Chinese brands.
- Figure skater Zhu Yi, 19, was left in tears after falling again in the women's short program team event today
- Yesterday she finished with the lowest score on day two of the event falling twice during her Olympic debut
- Zhu, born Beverly Zu, decided to compete for China in Olympics and changed her name and US citizenship
- But some people have also questioned why the California-born athlete was allowed to represent China
Beverly Zu, 19, who changed her name to Zhu Yi to compete for the Communist country, finished with the lowest score of the event at Beijing's Capital Indoor Stadium yesterday after she failed to land a jump and fell on the opening combination, and botched another jump later in her short program.
Today, the figure skater, who has faced widespread scorn from many in her adopted country, broke down in tears on the ice after falling again in the free skate - the final event in the team competition.
It comes just a day after Zhu was branded a 'disgrace' by fellow countrymen for finishing last and knocking China from third to fifth place in the team event.
Yesterday the 19-year-old, who has previously come under fire from Chinese fans on the social media platform Weibo, scored 47.03 after she tumbled on her first combination triple flip-triple toe-loop jump, crashed into the wall, and bungled her triple loop later in the set while skating to Paint It Black by The Rolling Stones.
The fall triggered a backlash on Chinese social media that critiqued her performance and raised questions about her selection for the Olympic team.
The hashtag 'Zhu Yi has fallen' quickly began trending on China's Twitter-like Weibo platform, gaining 200 million views in just a few hours as some took to social media to slam the athlete.
However some members of the Chinese public urged sympathy and said 'she represents China'.
A man, who gave his surname as Hu, told Reuters in Beijing: 'As long as she represents China, or no matter which country she represents, even though she fell down, we have to be tolerant.
'There should be no politicisation and narrow-mindedness to treat this matter, sportsmanship must come first.'
Meanwhile Hu Xijin, a prolific commentator who recently retired as editor-in-chief of the nationalist Global Times tabloid, said on his official Weibo account that the attacks on Zhu were speculative and 'too much'.
'I hope that some people will stop humiliating themselves and our country without any bottom line,' he said, defending the decision by Zhu, who was born and raised in the United States in a Chinese immigrant family, to represent China.
China has staffed some Olympic sports with foreign-born players, such as its ice hockey teams for the Beijing Games.
Freestyle skier Gu, whose Chinese name is Ailing and who is one of Team China's most popular athletes, was also born and raised in the US. Her decision to compete for China has been criticized by Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
'Chinese netizens generally like Gu Ailing but their rebuke of Zhu Yi is rude and uncalled for,' Hu said. 'I want to say that we should all be more open-minded than Fox and more civilized.'
Gu also trended heavily on Weibo on Monday after participating in the Big Air qualifier.
Zhu decided in 2018 to compete for China in the Olympics and changed her name and gave up her American citizenship, however, she is still facing criticism for not being fluent in Chinese.
Her poor debutant performance also now has some questioning why the California-born skater was picked to represent China instead of a figure skater who was born in the country.
Zhu was born in Los Angeles to Chinese parents and given the name Beverly, and grew up with a privileged background.
Her father, Zhu Songchun, is an award-winning scientist who joined the staff at Beijing's Peking University in 2020. He previously worked at the University of California, Los Angeles.
The
Olympian started figure skating when she was seven years old.
In 2018, she won the novice division while competing at the United States Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, California.
Later that year, she made the decision to represent China in the Olympics, a move that followed the nation's efforts to attract top athletes to their team.
She surrendered her American citizenship so she could compete for China and subsequently changed her name to Zhu Yi.
Zhu, during her first season skating for China, finished fourth at the 2019 Chinese Figure Skating Championships in Harbin. She then won bronze at the Sofia Trophy.
The young skater also took 11th place on her ISU Grand Prix debut at the 2019 Cup of China.
While analysts argued it was unlikely that Zhu would be in medal contention during the Winter Olympic games, she faced a lot of pressure ahead of her debut.
After her last-place performance, the skater was reportedly inconsolable.
'I'm upset and a little embarrassed,' Zhu told the media. 'I counted over and over again last night to see how many points I need to collect today to help my team advance.'
'I guess I felt a lot of pressure because I know everybody in China was pretty surprised with the selection for ladies' singles and I just really wanted to show them what I was able to do but unfortunately I didn't,' she added.
Despite her failed performance, Chinese figure skater and two-time world bronze medalist Jin Boyang, 24, has asked that people grace Zhu with kindness.
'Zhu is a hard-working girl, and should not be blamed for her first performance on the Olympic stage, whether it's good or bad,' he told Xinhua News.
Jin, who argued it's understandable for an Olympic debutant to fumble in their performance, believed the young skater was likely under a lot of pressure.
'I fully understand her position. I was there too,' he explained. 'She's under huge pressure as China's last performer in the team event short program and the sole skater in women's figure skating, especially after her selection over the two other girls.
He added: 'The Olympic Winter Games is a lifetime opportunity for every competitor. Hopefully we can gain more strength from the fact that we've gone all out and made history and leave the frustration of past errors behind us.'
However, many Chinese citizens did not take well to Zhu's fumble with sympathy and instead blasted her on social media.
'Zhu Yi has fallen' was trending on Chinese social media platform Weibo, with some users slamming her for alleged false patriotism.
'Please let her learn Chinese first, before she talks about patriotism,' one Weibo user wrote.
'This is such a disgrace,' another commented, gaining 11,000 likes from other users.
'Anyone would question how she was chosen to the team. Is it because she has a scientist father?' echoed another.
One Weibo user added: 'Zhu Yi, how ridiculous your performance is! How dare you skate for China? You cannot even hold a candle to an amateur!' echoed another.
Waiting for a storm that belongs to Zhu Yi, but really. What is this slipping?' a different user stated.
Although the 19-year-old was mostly met with derision, a few Weibo users offered her some kindness.
'I hope people don't say this (insults) to Zhu,' one wrote.
'The level of our team is still far behind Russia and the US. It already showed courage by coming to the stage. No one who competes for the first time can perform perfectly. It's okay if she can adjust her condition in the next competition,' said another.
China has recruited at least a dozen foreign-born athletes in recent years to compete on its Olympic teams, CNN reported, with Zhu being one of them.
Analysts allege the social media attack on the performer highlights the pressure naturalized athletes face while competing under the Chinese flag.
California-born athlete, freestyle ski star Ailing Gu, also joined China's team. She announced her intent to switch in June 2019.
However, unlike Zhu, 18-year-old Gu has allegedly charmed the China's public by speaking fluent Mandarin and being well versed in Chinese culture. The teen had grown up spending summers in Bejing.
Some argue Gu has become China's unofficial face of the Winter Olympics. She has been heavily featured in state media coverage and advertisements for Chinese brands.
