Do Naturalized Athletes Help or Hinder China’s Sports Programs？
Naturalized athletes are becoming increasingly common in China’s sports programs, but will they help develop domestic talent?
归化运动员给赛场带来了什么？
“Gu Ailing is standing on the top of the podium, using her actions to show the whole world: Self-confident Chinese are the most beautiful of all!” shouted the exhilarated commentator for Tencent Sport as Gu Ailing, the San Francisco-born freestyle skier competing for China, stepped atop the podium to receive her gold medal in the Big Air event at the Beijing Winter Olympic Games in February.
Gu, also known as Eileen Gu, would go on to win a silver and another gold at the Games. As she gave interviews in fluent Putonghua and ate steamed buns on camera, she became the undisputed star of China’s Olympic team. But beneath the euphoria, there was a constant stream of controversy about Gu’s citizenship status on both sides of the Pacific, as the 18-year-old’s decision to compete for China (the country where her mother was born) placed new scrutiny on the country’s naturalization policies for sporting talents.