did you root against Becky Hamon, former NCAA All-American / WNBA all-star, whose parents were American-born & had nothing to do w Russia, who swap homeland for Russia for Olympic glory in 2012? I did at least one of Eileen Gu's parents was born in China
The US chose not to take Hammon. If this girl was presented the option of China or no Olympics at all I would be significantly more sympathetic to her choice.
There have been many cases of athletes competing for countries where they had very little connection too. IN 2012 Sarah Attar who was a long distance runner at Pepperdine competed for the Saudi Arabia. She was born in Saudi Arabia but grew up in the US. Being one of the first female competitors for one of the most repressive Islamic states meant that she couldn't compete dressed as she normally did, in a tank top and shorts, but wearing a full body suit and a hat. If she had decided to compete for the US though she would've had no chance at making the Olympics as her times were way too slow for the US team and too slow for International qualification. She got in though because the IOC made an exception for developing nations and also for Islamic states that hadn't previously sent female athletes. As such both her and Judoka Wojdan Shaherkani got to go to the Olympics. In the case of Shaherkani she had only done Judo for a year and was only green belt.
Yes I did. I don't really agree with athletes living in one country and then representing another one, to me it defeats the entire purpose. I don't agree with living in the USA and representing the CCP or Russia especially.... I don't see how that can be reconciled. I wouldn't have an issue with it if Hamon or Gu moved to those countries and lived there..... however living in the USA and representing them is shitty. I highly doubt if Sun Yang said he was going to represent the USA it would go over well in China....
I don’t know man, some of them be too muscular lookin stronger than the average dude lol. I mean they got some fine women athlete like Kornacova or whatever how you spell her name, that tennis chick?
She appears to be the complete package. Almost genius level intelligence at a very young age, top tier looks, niche athletic ability that doesn’t come around very often. Able to balance living conditions in two countries …both her and her mom have an undeniable and tremendous bond which politics aside is a beautiful thing to see..money, fame and shrewd business decisions …she is making decisions best for her so no complaints here …plus her mom is from China so I can understand her decision
One difference with Sun Yang, and most Chinese athletes, is that he is a product of government sports schooling and training as China is historically too poor for the vast majority of people to become athletes using private resources alone. A better comparison is the outrage if a US military trained Marine Scout Sniper, decided to go represent Russia or China in Olympic shooting.
I can imagine why she may have felt compelled to represent China, especially if she made the decision before November of 2020. Hopefully she handles the politics and pressure well and maybe, just maybe, China and the rest of the world will be a less shitty place when all is said and done.
Rooting against athletes should be nothing new in competitive sports...it adds spice to the whole dish.
I should say that I have come across my fair share of people of Asian descent that are not mixed well. You'd have them look like people of a whole different ethnicity in West Asia. Diversity in general should produce better results.
Agreed on your premise But I wouldn't mind at all if Ronaldo -- he the greatest current soccer player? -- or whoever best player who wasn't American hopped on USA and made America win or at least made America more significant in the overall outcome
"or the country of my ethnic origin"? lol, are you too shy or not comfortable to reveal your ethnicity?
Not at all…I’ve mentioned my background before (Korean) in threads but I worded it that way because my feeling applies to other Asians as a whole. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-...country-can-bring-rewards-controversy-n850811 “I’m just following my Japanese heritage. I still live in America. I’m still American. I’m always going to have that side of course, but I’m of a hundred percent Japanese blood.
The more the merrier, imagine Wentworth Miller or people of 5 to 8 different ethnic lines.... More cultural diversity to choose from.
