Zhu Yi (figure skater)

Zhu Yi or Beverly Zhu (Chinese: 朱易; born September 19, 2002) is a Chinese-American figure skater who represents China in ladies' singles. She has competed in the final segment at two ISU Championships, placing 13th at the 2020 Four Continents and 22nd at 2020 Junior Worlds.

In this Chinese name, the family name is Zhu.
Zhu Yi
Personal information
Native name朱易
Alternative namesBeverly Zhu
Country represented China
Former country(ies) represented United States
Born (2002-09-19) September 19, 2002
Westwood, California, United States
Home townEncino, California
Height1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
CoachBrian Orser
Oula Jääskeläinen
Derrick Delmore
Chen Lu
Former coachIvan Dinev
Angela Nikodinov
Peter Kongkasem[1]
ChoreographerDerrick Delmore
Jeffrey Buttle
Former choreographerAnastasia Sharenkova
Former skating clubAll Year FSC
Training locationsBeijing, China
Lakewood, California
Former training locationsLos Angeles, California
ISU personal best scores
Combined total155.41
2020 Four Continents
Short program55.53
2020 Four Continents
Free skate99.88
2020 Four Continents

She won the 2018 U.S. national novice title before switching to representing China internationally.[2]

Personal life

Zhu was born on September 19, 2002 in Los Angeles, California.[3] Her parents, Cui Jie and Zhu Songchun, are both originally from China. Her father is a computer expert and professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.[2] Although it is unclear whether Zhu has relinquished her U.S. citizenship, Chinese experts have stated that members of the Chinese national team's training programs must have Chinese citizenship.[2][4] She is part of a growing number of foreign athletes of Chinese origin attempting to become naturalized Chinese citizens.[5][4]

Zhu can play the piano.[6]

Career

Early career

Zhu started skating at 7 years old after her mother's friend's daughter started lessons.[6] She narrowly missed qualifying to the U.S. National Championships two years in a row from 2016 to 2017 after finishing fifth at Sectionals both seasons.[7]

2017–2018 season: U.S. novice title

Zhu placed second at the 2018–19 Pacific Coast Sectionals to qualify to the U.S. National Championships for the first time. She won the novice title in her Nationals debut at the 2018 U.S. Figure Skating Championships with a record score of 167.69 points.[8]

2018–2019 season: Switching to China

Zhu switched to representing her parents' native country of China in September 2018 as part of the country's "Morning Road" initiative to recruit top athletes leading up to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.[2] She trained with five Chinese ice dancers in a group led by Chen Lu and five foreign coaches up through December.[2] Zhu placed fourth at the 2019 Chinese Figure Skating Championships in Harbin at the end of December.[9] In February, she competed at the Sofia Trophy, where she won the bronze medal.[10]

2019–2020 season

Zhu was assigned to her first Grand Prix event, 2019 Cup of China, where she finished eleventh.[11] She then placed thirteenth at 2019 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb and was twenty-second at the 2020 World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Tallinn.

2020–2021 season

Zhu was assigned to compete at the 2020 Skate Canada International, but the event was cancelled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.[12]

Programs
Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2020–2021
[13]
2019–2020
[3]
2018–2019
[14]

Competitive highlights

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series

For China
International[15]
Event 18–19 19–20 20–21
Four Continents13th
GP Cup of China11th
GP Skate CanadaC
CS Golden Spin14th
Toruń Cup8th
International: Junior[15]
Junior Worlds22nd
Sofia Trophy3rd
National[15]
Chinese Champ.4th
TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew; C = Event cancelled

For the United States
National[16]
Event 14–15 15–16 16–17 17–18
U.S. Champ.1st N
Pacific Coast5th I5th N2nd N
Southwest Pacific11th V4th I2nd N
Levels: V = Juvenile; I = Intermediate;
N = Novice

Detailed results

Senior level
2019–20 season
Date Event SP FS Total
December 4–7, 2019 2019 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb 13
49.23		 13
93.87		 13
143.10
November 8–10, 2019 2019 Cup of China 9
53.19		 11
86.44		 11
139.63

Junior level
2018–19 season
Date Event Level SP FS Total
February 5–10, 2019 2019 Sofia Trophy Junior 3
47.59		 3
88.05		 3
135.64
December 29–30, 2018 2019 Chinese Championships Senior 4
54.36		 5
91.71		 4
146.07

References
  1. Viya (January 4, 2018). "Bulgarian coach with two winners at 2018 U.S. Figure Skating Championships". Beauty in Sport.
  2. Palmer, Dan (September 26, 2018). "American-born figure skater joins Chinese squad with one eye on Beijing 2022". Inside the Games.
  3. "Yi ZHU: 2019/2020". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 6, 2020.
  4. "US Olympic Hopeful Says She Will Ski for China in 2022". Sixth Tone. June 10, 2019. Gu isn’t the first athlete to “become Chinese,” either officially or unofficially, in recent months...last September, 17-year-old American figure skater Beverly Zhu enrolled in China’s national figure skating program to vie for a roster spot at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
  5. Zuo, Mandy (July 9, 2019). "Can China win the World Cup with a handful of naturalized players?". Inkstone News. US-born Beverly Zhu, who won the 2018 US Figure Skating Championships, triggered a heated discussion in China after she joined the Chinese team last year, which means she can compete for the host nation at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
  6. 《风云会》朱易专访：代表中国参赛令人兴奋 很激动能有希望参加奥运会 [Fengyunhui Zhu Yi Interview: "Competing on behalf of China is very exciting. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to try for the Olympic Games"] (in Chinese). CCTV-5. March 21, 2019.
  7. Zhu, Beverly (February 1, 2018). "dreams don't work unless you do" (Instagram).
  8. Jin, Vivian (January 22, 2018). "Bay Area skaters shine at annual U.S. Figure Skating Championships". Harker Aquila.
  9. "2018/2019 Chinese National Figure Skating Championships Results" (PDF). Chinese Skating Association. December 31, 2018.
  10. "Sofia Trophy 2019: Junior Ladies Result". Bulgarian Skating Federation. February 9, 2019.
  11. Xinhua (June 21, 2019). "Sui Wenjing/Han Cong, Jin Boyang lead China Cup figure skating nominations". China Daily.
  12. "Skate Canada International in Ottawa cancelled as COVID-19 cases rise". CBC Sports. October 14, 2020.
  13. "Yi ZHU: 2020/2021". International Skating Union.
  14. "Yi ZHU: 2018/2019". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on March 19, 2019.
  15. "Yi ZHU: Competition Results". International Skating Union.
  16. "Beverly Zhu". Stats on Ice. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
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