U.S.-born Chinese freestyle skier Gu Ailing won the third gold medal for the Chinese delegation on the 8th. In recent years, with the increase in the number of large-scale international events held in China, the demand for high-level athletes has also been growing, and more and more Overseas-born Chinese athletes have chosen to join Chinese nationality and win more honors for China.
Gu Ailing was born on September 3, 2003 in San Francisco, California, where her mother, Gu Yan, is a native of Beijing and a former ski instructor. When Gu Ailing was a child, she often returned to Beijing with her mother and could speak fluent Mandarin. In 2019, Gu Ailing announced that she had officially changed her to Chinese nationality. At the Beijing Winter Olympics, Gu Ailing competed in three events: freestyle skiing U-shaped track, slope obstacle course and big jump.
Zhu Yi
Like Gu Ailing, Chinese figure skater Zhu Yi was also born in California, USA, and his father Zhu Songchun is a world-renowned computer vision expert, statistical and applied mathematician, and artificial intelligence expert. Zhu Yi, 20, won the women's single skating title in the rookie category of the 2018 National Figure Skating Championships. In 2019, Zhu Yi joined the Chinese nationality and began to represent China in international competitions.
At this Winter Olympics, Zhu Yi played abnormally in the women's singles short program of the team competition, and rumors such as "Zhu Yi does not accept interviews with Chinese media" and "Zhu Yi will not say Chinese" appeared on the Internet. When Zhu Yi was questioned by a Chinese reporter, he had certain difficulties in organizing language. When a reporter suggested that she could answer in English, Zhu Yi said: "Actually, I don't want to speak English, because I want to speak Chinese." Gu Ailing revealed that she recently met figure skater Zhu Yi in the Winter Olympic Village. Gu Ailing said that mistakes and pressure are part of the competition, many athletes will fall in the competition, but the most important thing is to enjoy the game on the basis of safety. Athletes definitely want to show the best in themselves, and I hope everyone can understand.
Lin Shan
Another Chinese figure skater, Lin Shan, also grew up in the United States. From the age of 8, she began to receive professional training in figure skating. In 2019, 16-year-old Lin Shan became a Chinese citizen.
In October 2020, at the Figure Skating Grand Prix in the United States, Lin Shan represented China for the first time in international competitions. In the end, Lin Shan won the 6th place in the Women's Singles of the Grand Prix in the United States, and 182.11 points was also the highest score in the Chinese women's singles in international competitions at that time. Due to points, Lin Shan lagged behind Chinese figure skaters Zhu Yi and Chen Hongyi, and ultimately failed to qualify for the Winter Olympics.
Zhou Jiaying
On February 6, in the women's ice hockey group stage of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, the Chinese women's ice team defeated Japan through extra time and penalty shootouts. Goalkeeper Zhou Jiaying not only saved a single knife ball in the game, but also made a five-game save in a penalty shoot-out battle, and won the god in one battle!
More than half of the players of the Chinese women's ice team this time are naturalized from China. Most of them are of Chinese descent, some are descendants of immigrants, and some are from adoptive families. Of the 23-man roster for the Chinese women's ice hockey team, 13 are naturalized players, and only two are of Chinese descent.
Zhou Jiaying was born in Canada on October 4, 1995, her mother is Chinese, and her father is Canadian. He studied figure skating since childhood, but was influenced by his brother, who later became a member of the Harvard Varsity team, to play ice hockey. In 2012, Zhou Jiaying was admitted to Princeton University, where he represented the varsity team in the NCAA, and was repeatedly named "Best Goalkeeper of the Week" and "Best Goalkeeper of the Month".
On June 14, 2018, Zhou Jiaying joined Shenzhen Kunlun Hongxing Club. This year she represented China in the women's ice hockey event at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. In the mixed interview area, a foreign reporter interviewed Zhou Jiaying, who was much more fluent in English than Chinese, and insisted on answering in Mandarin throughout the whole process. Zhou Jiaying said: "To be able to represent China in the Olympic Games is my life's wish and honor. ”
Guo Meilin
In addition to ice and snow sports, there are also Chinese athletes who choose Chinese nationality to participate in other sports. Chinese rhythmic gymnast Guo Meilin was born in Ukraine on March 27, 2007, to a Chinese father and a Ukrainian mother. At the age of 5, she began her amateur training in rhythmic gymnastics and won the Ukrainian National Championships Junior Team All-Around Championship.
On March 14, 2021, Guo Meilin announced through Weibo that she had obtained Chinese nationality. According to Ukrainian law, if one of the parents is a foreigner, the child can choose the nationality at the age of 14. As a result, her parents considered their daughter to be a naturalized or reinstated person, not a naturalized one.
Zheng Nina Li
Chinese track and field athlete Zheng Ninali was born on November 12, 1998 in New Westminster, Canada. Since childhood, he has been practicing athletics with his grandmother and grandfather, focusing on women's heptathlon.
On April 12, 2021, Zheng Ninali was officially qualified to represent Chinese athletics in international competitions. At the Tokyo Olympics, Zheng Ninali set a new personal best in the 100m hurdles and 800m events, and finally won the tenth place in the women's heptathlon with 6318 points, creating the best result of Chinese athletes in the Olympic event.
Huatian
At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Chinese equestrian Huatian made a deep impression. Hua Tian was born on October 25, 1989 in London, England, and is a mixed Chinese-British child.
In 2006, in order to represent China at the Olympic Games, he officially renounced his British citizenship and became Chinese. Huatian competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the 2012 London Olympics, the 2016 Rio Olympics and last year's Tokyo Olympics.
Lin
In addition to athletes who have changed their nationality to China, there are also athletes who retain foreign countries to participate in competitions in China, and Jeremy Lin is one of the most well-known athletes. Professional basketball player Jeremy Lin was born on August 23, 1988 in California, Usa, to parents from Taiwan. In the 2019-20 season, he joined Beijing Shougang. In June 2021, Jeremy Lin announced his return to the CBA Beijing Shougang Men's Basketball Team.