Wrapup 1: Olympics-Beijing claims Gu as a daughter after golden day in China

Descente

08/02/2022 12:43

* U.S.-born Chinese freestyle skier Gu triumphs in Big Air
    * China gold rush sees hosts briefly top medals table
    * U.S. figure skater Chen sets world record, Hanyu struggles
    * Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai watches Gu from the
stands   

    By Yew Lun Tian, Julien Pretot and Krystal Hu
    BEIJING, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Teenager Eileen Gu nailed a new
trick in the final run of the freeski Big Air on Tuesday,
delivering host nation China its quickest gold rush at a Winter
Games https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/olympics.
 
    The Chinese capital claimed the San Francisco-born Gu
nL8N2UJ0BK as a daughter of Beijing after she pulled off an
impressive "1620," a trick she had never done before in
competition, to beat French skier Tess Ledeux.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2UJ0BK
    The 18-year-old said she would celebrate nL1N2UJ02D by
eating a chocolate bar by San Francisco confectioner
Ghirardelli, play the piano and write in her journal before
getting back to practice ahead of her slopestyle event on Feb
14.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2UJ02D   
    "I brought a package of holiday-themed peppermint bark
Ghirardelli chocolate, so I'm going to open that today. I've
been saving it for my first final. It's kind of an exciting
moment," she told reporters.
    Gu's gold, along with podium-topping performances by
speedskater Ren Ziwei and his mixed team relay compatriots, put
China temporarily at the top of the medal tally on Tuesday.
    The country has won three golds and two silver medals since
the opening ceremony on Friday night. 
    See the Winter Games medal tally here https://graphics.reuters.com/OLYMPICS-2022/GRAPHIC-EXPLAINER/lbvgnlzkwpq/index.html#section-medals.
    Other glittering performances on the slopes and ice included
Austrian Matthias Mayer, who became the first man to win an
Alpine skiing gold at three consecutive Games after claiming the
super-G title.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2UJ0GG
    American Nathan Chen shocked Japan's "Ice Prince" Yuzuru
Hanyu with a world record nL8N2UJ0PA in the figure skating short
programme, giving him a massive lead in their battle for the
gold medal.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2UJ0PA
    Despite enormous obstacles created by the COVID-19 pandemic,
Beijing's snow spectacle has triggered an early gold rush for
winter sports goods in China, with online purchases of equipment
and clothing from brands such as Anta Sports and Descente
surging.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2S106W
    Olympic fever has even spread to China's stock market with a
buying frenzy unleashed on shares linked to the Games.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2UJ2FN
    Organisers on Tuesday said more local spectators would be
invited to watch, in a show of confidence that COVID-19 is under
control within the closed loop that separates Games personnel
from the Chinese public.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2UJ067
    
    PENG WATCHES
    Watching Gu from the stands on Tuesday was Chinese tennis
player Peng Shuai, whose whereabouts became a cause for
international concern in November when she appeared to accuse a
party official of sexual assault. 
    Peng was seen in the stands wearing a black knit hat with
the Olympic rings on them, a black coat with the Chinese flag
and a mask with the Beijing 2022 logo.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2UJ0DC
    Gu said she was honoured by her attendance. 
    "I'm really grateful that she's happy and healthy and out
there doing her things again," an ebullient Gu said after her
win.
    The freestyle skier was less forthcoming about whether she
still holds a U.S. passport, refusing to directly answer
questions about her citizenship.  
    China does not allow dual nationality, and state media have
previously reported that the 18-year-old renounced her U.S.
citizenship after she became a Chinese national at the age of
15. Gu would not confirm that on Tuesday.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2UJ2ET
        
    BEIJING'S DAUGHTER
    That did not stop host city Beijing from claiming the U.S.
born Gu as its own, calling her "a Beijing athlete" in a
congratulatory note on its official Wechat account after her
victory. Gu's mother was born in Beijing.
     Moments after her dazzling performance, the ruling Chinese
Communist Party's powerful graft watchdog released an exclusive
interview with Gu, an unusual move for the party organ whose
primary function is to catch and condemn members who have broken
party rules and ethical codes. 
    Gu was asked about her love for free-style skiing, the
influence her mother had on her and the Chinese food she likes.
The answer is Peking duck and tomato-based hotpot.
    Other government or party units normally unconcerned with
sports, such as the Political and Legal Affairs Commission of a
small city in Gansu province, the Management Committee of
Kunming Economic Development Area, and the Guangzhou Railway,
all made breathless posts complete with multiple exclamation
marks on their official Weibo accounts. 
    In the first hour after her triumph, Gu topped the "hot
search chart" on Weibo, China's Twitter-like social media, with
seven of the top 10 searches about Gu.
    But by the afternoon, figure skater Hanyu had replaced Gu as
the most searched topic after his unexpected error.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2UJ1OF

 (Reporting by Olympics correspondents and the Beijing bureau;
Writing by Leela de Kretser; Editing by Tony Munroe and Ken
Ferris)
 ((Leela.deKretser@thomsonreuters.com;))