Figure skater Zhu Yi recently made headlines when she fell twice during her Olympic debut and received backlash.
During the free skate event on Monday (7 Feb), she once again fell during her routine. Already facing immense criticism, she couldn’t hold it in and burst into tears.
Chinese netizens again took to Weibo to criticise her for not only finishing in last place but also crying.
Other netizens continued to defend her from the cruel comments online, urging critics to be more compassionate towards the young athlete.
In her Olympic debut, Zhu Yi fell twice during the women’s short programme team event and finished in last place.
On Monday, she stumbled again during the free skate event and finished in last place with a score of 91.41, reported South China Morning Post (SCMP).
After the fall, she visibly couldn’t hold her tears in. She later said that she was “very emotional” during the routine.
However, she also resolved to leave these incidents in her past and continue to do her best in the singles event.
She will be skating again on 15 Feb when she competes in the women’s single short programme.
If Zhu Yi is ranked among the top 24 skaters, she will compete again on 17 Feb in the women’s free skating event.
According to SCMP, the incendiary comments online became so intense that Weibo had to remove some posts.
This came after Weibo had already censored the hashtag “Zhu Yi has fallen” which trended with 200 million views after her first performance.
This time, she was criticised for crying. A user insisted that stress did not justify her tears as every competitor feels pressure.
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Thankfully, other Weibo users continued to defend the figure skater, encouraging her to keep trying.
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There was also an outpouring of support on SCMP’s Facebook post. This netizen stressed that the Olympic spirit is about working hard and being one’s best.
Others sympathised with her for having to face such cruel comments.
Emotions tend to run high during the Olympics as the top athletes represent their respective countries.
While it is natural to take pride in them, we must remember that they are still human.
Hate comments may just be words on a screen but they have very real and severe impacts on the psychological well-being of those being targetted.
Hopefully, people will be more considerate and respectful and cheer athletes on regardless of their results.
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Featured image adapted from Weibo and Weibo.
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