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The overwhelming success of U.S. figure skater Nathan Chen at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games has not gone down well with mainland Chinese netizens.

"Brutish" and "ape-like" performance

Following his achievement in clinching gold at the men's figure skating event on Feb. 10, Chinese netizens took to Weibo to slam his performance, as well as the skater himself.

One Weibo user mocked Chen's performance as "ape-like" under a video montage of the skater posted by the International Skating Union.

Another described Chen as a circus act performing acrobatics in long johns (as opposed to a figure skating outfit) -- a derogatory statement implying that he's not a real figure skater.

A post that drew nearly 4,800 likes which was posted prior to the Feb. 10 figure skating event also drew a comparison between Japanese figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu and Chen.

Here, the netizen praised Hanyu for his elegance, "oriental aesthetics" and "noble temperament", unlike Chen who was "brutish" and "desperate to stand out" with his performance that was labelled as "robotic" with "no artistry".

The netizen also claimed that Chen, who cannot speak Mandarin, will be hyped as a "model of loyalty" by the U.S. following his victory, as a foil to Eileen Gu, a U.S.-born freeskier who chose to compete for China. Gu is extremely popular among the Chinese nationwide.

Slammed for insulting China with Xinjiang remarks

Some of the flak against Chen also took on a more nationalistic tone, saying that Chen had "insulted China".

A commenter highlighted Chen's comments on Xinjiang during an interview he gave in October 2021, in which he appeared to back American ice dancer Evan Bates's criticisms regarding China's treatment of the Uyghur minority.

At that time, Chen was quoted as saying, "I agree with what Evan was saying. I think that for a greater change to occur, there must be power that is beyond the Olympics."

The netizen said that he found Chen's action to be "particularly intolerable", and added that he was "extremely disgusted" with the skater for repeatedly "insulting China" with such comments.

He also accused Chen of not recognising his Chinese name, and of being unable to speak a word of Chinese, while praising Hanyu for "challenging himself" and "daring" to give his all in his performance.

Not all commenters are critical of Chen, however.

A small number of users could be found praising Chen for attempting to speak Mandarin, despite his limited knowledge of the language.

Chen: No plans to look at social media

Bloomberg reported that at a new conference following his gold medal victory, Chen said that he still has family ties in China.

As for the online backlash against him, Chen said that he has been staying off social media lately.

The current online reception of Chinese-American athletes marks a contrast to the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics in which such athletes were seen as bridges between both countries.

U.S.-born figure skater Zhu Yi who represented China in the Beijing Winter Olympics was blasted by Chinese social media users after she fell flat on the ice during the women's short programme team event and finished last.

Meanwhile, Gu captured the hearts of many Chinese netizens, even before her Olympic success, only to trigger an outpouring of outrage over a comment she made on Instagram.

Her comment that "anyone" is free to download VPN has sparked online fury among Chinese Weibo users over her perceived privilege and ignorance as someone who enjoys the freedoms offered by the U.S. and at the same time, has access to the opportunities that China has to offer.

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Top photos via Nathan Chen Facebook