Ashley Lin or Lin Shan (; born March 12, 2003) is an American-born Chinese

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...

, who represents

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

in ladies' singles. She is the 2020 Chinese national bronze medalist. Born in the United States, she competed for the U.S. and won the 2017 U.S. national junior bronze medal, before representing China internationally.

Personal life

Lin was born in

Frisco, Texas Frisco is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Collin County, Texas, Collin and Denton County, Texas, Denton counties. It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex (DFW) and about from both Dallas Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth In ...

, on March 12, 2003, to Chinese immigrants from

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

. Her parents both work in computer companies. According to

Xinhua News Xinhua News Agency (English pronunciation: ),J. C. Wells: Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd ed., for both British and American English or New China News Agency, is the official State media, state news agency of the China, People's Republic ...

, Lin became a naturalized Chinese citizen in early 2019, and thus relinquished her

U.S. citizenship Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constit ...

, as China does not allow

dual nationality Multiple citizenship (or multiple nationality) is a person's legal status in which a person is at the same time recognized by more than one country under its nationality and citizenship law as a national or citizen of that country. There is no ...

. Lin was accepted to the

Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania The Wharton School ( ) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia. Established in 1881 through a donation from Joseph Wharton, a co-founder of Bethlehem Steel, the Wharton ...

as part of the Class of 2026.

Career

Early career

Lin began skating in 2008. She was the 2016 U.S. national novice pewter medalist.

2016–2017 season

Lin was assigned to her first international event, 2016 JGP Slovenia, where she placed sixth. She won Midwestern Sectionals and advanced to the 2017 U.S. Championships, where she won bronze.

2017–2018 season

Lin again placed sixth at 2017 JGP Latvia to start the season. Competing in the senior division, she won the pewter medal at Midwestern Sectionals and qualified for the 2018 U.S. Championships. Lin was 21st after the short program at the 2018 U.S. Championships, and later withdrew from the free skating for unspecified reasons.

2018–2019 season

Lin opened her season with a fifth-place finish in the junior division at the 2018

Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy The Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy (also known as the Asian Trophy; previously known as the Asian Figure Skating Championships) is an annual international figure skating competition sanctioned by the Asian Skating Union. In some years, the eve ...

. She made her senior international debut at

2018 CS Nebelhorn Trophy The 2018 CS Nebelhorn Trophy was held in September 2018 at the Eissportzentrum Oberstdorf. It is part of the 2018–19 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dance. ...

, where she earned personal bests in all segments to place fifth overall. Lin then competed at

2018 CS Inge Solar Memorial – Alpen Trophy The 2018 CS Inge Solar Memorial – Alpen Trophy was held on November 11–18, 2018, at the OlympiaWorld Innsbruck in Innsbruck, Austria. It was part of the 2018–19 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in men's singles, women's singles, p ...

, where she narrowly missed the podium, finishing in fourth 0.06 points behind

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Brooklee Han Brooklee Han (born July 6, 1995) is an American-Australian retired figure skater who represented Australia in ladies' singles. She is the 2018 CS Alpen Trophy bronze medalist, the 2013 Volvo Open Cup champion, the 2013 Australian national ch ...

after a free skating comeback. Lin qualified to the 2019 U.S. Championships, but withdrew in January to begin the process of switching nationalities.

2019–2020 season

Lin officially switched to representing her parents' native country of

in 2019, as part of the country's initiative to recruit top athletes leading up to the

2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), were an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beijing, China, and surrounding areas wit ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. Lin won the bronze medal at the 2019–20 Chinese Championships in September behind An Xiangyi and

Chen Hongyi Chen Hongyi (; born September 19, 2002) is a Chinese figure skater. She is the 2020 Cup of China champion, a three-time Chinese national medalist (2018–20), and has skated in the final segment at five ISU Championships. Career Early yea ...

. Her coach, Chen Lu, told media that they were aiming to refine details and increase Lin's difficulty in the lead-up to the Olympics. The

Chinese Skating Association The Chinese Skating Association (CSA) () was founded in 1956. It was the second Asian country to join the International Skating Union (ISU). It hosts international and manages domestic short track speed skating and speed skating competitions. M ...

arranged for Lin to train with coaches

Eteri Tutberidze Eteri Georgievna Tutberidze (Georgian language, Georgian: ეთერი გიორგის ასული თუთბერიძე; ; born 24 February 1974) is a Georgian-Russian figure skating coach who works mainly with female single s ...

Sergei Dudakov Sergei Viktorovich Dudakov (; born 13 January 1970) is a Russian figure skating coach and former competitor who represented the Soviet Union. He is the 1989 Golden Spin of Zagreb champion and a two-time (1989–90) Piruetten champion. He finishe ...

, and

Daniil Gleikhengauz Daniil Markovich Gleikhengauz (or Gleichenhaus; , born 3 June 1991) is a Russian former ice dancer and single skater. In single skating, he is the 2007 Russian junior national bronze medalist and competed at the 2007 World Junior Championships, ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

for two weeks in October.

2020–2021 season

After the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

led

Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural ''Grands Prix'') most commonly refers to: * Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition ** List of Formula One Grands Prix, an auto-racing championship *** Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious ...

assignments to be allotted geographically, Lin was assigned to compete at the

2020 Skate America The 2020 Guaranteed Rate Skate America was the first event in the 2020–21 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 23–24. Meda ...

. Making her international debut for China, she placed sixth at the event, including a fifth-place finish in the free skate. Lin was named the alternate for the 2021 World Championships.

Programs

Competitive highlights

''CS: Challenger Series; GP:

; JGP:

Junior Grand Prix The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating (titled the ISU Junior Series in the 1997–98 season) is a series of international junior-level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men ...

. Pewter medals (4th place) awarded only at U.S. national, sectional, and regional events.''

For China

For the United States

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lin, Ashley 2003 births Living people Sportspeople from Frisco, Texas Sportspeople from Texas Chinese female single skaters American female single skaters Naturalized citizens of the People's Republic of China American sportswomen of Chinese descent Former United States citizens Naturalised sports competitors 21st-century Chinese sportswomen