The stakes for Chinese Olympians have never been higher than at Beijing 2022. Though Chinese President Xi Jinping states he “does not care” how many gold medals China wins at the Winter Olympic Games, behind the scenes, these athletes face enormous pressures. The burden to meet China’s Olympic goals of becoming a “winter sports powerhouse” and the ever-present need to cultivate national pride among the Chinese populace has turned Beijing 2022 into a serious geopolitical event amid an international backlash.
“The Olympics are revealing a lot right now,” Michael Sobolik, an Indo-Pacific Studies fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council, told The Diplomat. “It’s revealing the party doesn’t feel they need to apologize or explain themselves to anyone and have the help of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to take that posture.”
Equally revealing is the plight of Chinese athletes caught in the crossfire of great power politics. As human rights concerns and diplomatic boycotts swirl around Beijing 2022, athletes have an even more intense routine than any athletic feat ahead of them: They must simultaneously navigate virulent online nationalism and corporate sponsor objectives, and avoid the increasingly intense political fray surrounding the Games – all while going for gold.
Appeasing China’s netizens can have serious financial implications for athletes. Yang Qian, an air rifle Olympic gold medalist, wore a signature yellow duck pin during her events at Tokyo 2020 that sparked a consumer craze domestically. Her profile has since won her partnerships with Western brands like Estée Lauder.
Even Olympians who don’t win gold can get paid. Su Bingtian, a sixth-place finisher at the 100m final at Tokyo 2020, earned the moniker “pride of China” and as a result of his performance was…