Asian Americans Athletes

The Struggles and Successes of Asian American Athletes in the Olympics

By Hannah Kim

This past summer, countless Asian and Pacifc Islander American (APIA) athletes traveled to Tokyo in hopes of winning gold for their country in the 2020 Summer Olympics. However, many of these athletes represent a country that, just a few months prior, had a spike in Asian hate crimes triggered by the pandemic. Many have used their platform to uplift the APIA community and raise awareness on Asian hate by sharing their experiences of enduring racially motivated threats as they prepare for the Olympics.

The frst APIA athlete to gain visibility was Victoria Draves, the frst Asian American to receive a medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. Shortly after, Sammy Lee, a fellow diver, also won a gold medal. However, the road to their success was marked with racism that served as barriers

to enter their sport.

For Draves, she strategically adopted her mother’s maiden name to avoid racial

discrimination in competitions. Lee was only able to train in his community swimming pool once a week on the day before its weekly cleaning. Despite training under these limitations, both athletes were able to perform at an elite level and have since served as role

models for APIA athletes that have followed in their footsteps.

Since then, there have seen many instances of APIA excellence in sports, such as gymnast Amy Chow, fgure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, and snowboarder Chloe Kim, as well as an encouraging increase in APIA participation in these high-profle sport events.

Swimmer Jay Litherland, a silver medalist in the 400m individual medley at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, has even attributed part of his motivation and success to past APIA athletes.

“I really idolized [fve-time Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer Nathan Adrian] … When you look at someone that’s got kind of a similar face … you kind of relate to them,” he said.

Still, Jieli Wegerif, a third-year student at the University of Florida, has relayed her desire for greater APIA representation within sports.

Wegerif expressed that visibility matters because it shapes how one views their identity. ““If I had known more Asian Americans who

played my sport and who were active in areas that were exciting to me as a kid, I do think that would have affected how I viewed myself,” she said. Wegerif’s childhood did not include a lot of exposure to APIA women in sports. Despite the lack of APIA role models to look up to, she enthusiastically shared that

“My job is to represent this country no matter what … no matter if an individual feels like they need to say something or harass me.”

the past Tokyo Olympics was particularly exciting as she noticed a considerable increase in APIA representation.

In spite of the increasing visibility of APIA members within sports, the effects of Asian hate have impeded on the well-being of several athletes as their identities and

allegiances are questioned. From racial slurs to hateful messages to harassment on the road, these Olympic athletes have endured another layer of stress in addition to the pressures of performing well on behalf of their country. Yet, many athletes have taken to social media to

raise awareness on Asian hate and the

problematic nature of racial stereotypes in sports.

Brooke Reeves, a third-year economics student at UF, shared her thoughts on APIA athletes competing under the duress of widespread Asian-hate sentiments, as well as their reactive presence on social media.

She stated, “When people of minority groups go and represent themselves, especially on big platforms, not only are they representing themselves as a person, but they’re also representing whatever nationality they are.” She recognized the importance of APIA athletes utilizing their platforms to gain attention, as “[incidents reported by APIA athletes] can happen to anyone.”

Wegerif also added, “It’s not just a physical level they have to reach to be the best of the best

… you also have to be in a good mental state.” She elaborated how “[focusing] on things that aren’t purely related to sports performance,” such as Asian hate incidents, can add to the baseline pressure of performing well.

Gymnast Yul Moldauer has been particularly vocal during this time, especially after an incident following a woman screaming at him to “go back to China” at a red light. Since then, he has utilized his platform to maintain a strong position on his own identity.

“My job is to represent this country no matter what … no matter if an individual

feels like they need to say something or harass me,” he said. Moldauer frequently speaks on the racism he faces that stem from stereotypes like the perpetual foreigner syndrome, which posits that minorities will always be seen as an “other,” regardless of their citizenship. There is also the stereotype that Asian Americans are not genetically inclined to perform well in sports, on which he optimistically commented, “For me, I hope I’m breaking that stereotype.”

Despite his positive outlook, Reeves revealed a harsh reality of facing discrimination within sports. “It’s almost like every single time someone goes to break the stereotype, you have to face the societal pressures of not only representing yourself,” said Reeves. “You’re also shouldering the burden of representing your culture and its people.”

Founder of Stop AAPI Hate Russel Jeung has spoken at length about the tenuous position that APIA athletes hold within the realm of sports and athletics. “Like Black athletes, Asian Americans are representing a country that doesn’t fully accept them,” he said.

He referred to their position as one of “conditional status,” as they are only accepted when they are deemed winners but swiftly outcast again when they fail to add to America’s medal count. As a result, there is an extra burden placed on APIA athletes because they not only represent themselves and their country but also their

race.

Though APIA presence within sports has been limited in the past, today’s athletes have taken an active stance in combating the stereotypes and hate that work against their presence in their sport; they have taken the recent events as an opportunity to bring to light the systemic changes that need to be made inside and outside their

sport for greater APIA acceptance.

For instance, when a Serbian volleyball player was caught stretching her eyelids back to mock a member of Thailand’s team, spectators and athletes such as volleyball players Eric and Kawika Shoji have pushed to hold the player accountable. Since the incident, the Serbian athlete was suspended and fned for her insensitive behavior.

“It’s defnitely gross misconduct,” as Reeves put it. “It’s important to make it obvious that the volleyball association won’t allow that to happen.” Both Reeves and Wegerif agree that seeing and hearing about an increasing APIA presence in athletic felds are exciting and hopeful.

“Visibility matters, but it doesn’t just matter for kids who are gonna look up to those people as their role models. It matters for kids who are gonna see those athletes and realize that their preconceived notions are not true or just the exception,” said Wegerif. “Representation matters not just for those who look up to the athletes but also for those who have never had exposure to athletes who are APIA, and that challenges their perception of who can be an athlete and what it means to be APIA.”

To compete for a country that isn’t fully accepting of their identity, APIA athletes display resilience, strength, and commitment — all integral components of the APIA identity and experience worth celebrating.