And in some cases, would-be Olympians choose to switch citizenship to a country where they have a better shot to qualify for the Olympics. It's common for foreign-born athletes to be recruited by countries looking to bolster their medal count. She is affectionately called the 'snow princess' in headlines and her face is splashed around China on billboards and magazine covers.Ĭhina’s men’s hockey roster features 18 players who were born in or grew up in North America - including seven from the United States - and one Russian, The Associated Press reported.

The 18-year-old speaks fluent Mandarin and charmed the Chinese public with her accent-free language skills. However, Gu's popularity in China is a stark contrast to that of Zhu. She told Forbes last year that the decision was based partly on her desire to become the 'freeskiing idol for young Chinese girls that Americans and Canadians were to her growing up.' She announced on her Instagram in 2019 that she would be competing for China in the 2022 Winter Games. Zhu is one of several foreign-born athletes competing for China at the 2022 Winter Games.įreestyle skier Eileen Gu was born in San Francisco to a Chinese mother and American father. Her father is a renowned computer scientist specializing in artificial intelligence and previously taught at the University of California, Los Angeles, before transferring to Peking University in Beijing. citizenship in 2018 to compete at the Olympics for China, which doesn't allow dual citizenship. Zhu was born in Los Angeles, California, and renounced her U.S. 'She should just go back to her old home, her father can remain,' a Weibo user commented on a thread calling for her to return to the US. Zhu has also faced criticism for not being able to speak fluent Chinese. Many users also complained that the American-born skater had been given a spot on Team China over someone who is native born to compete in the Beijing Winter Olympics. Watch ROC's Kamila Valieva Become First Woman to Land Quad at Olympics

American girl ice skating game