ZHANGJIAKOU, China (Reuters) – American freestyle skier Kai Owens may have been eliminated in the second round of the women’s freestyle moguls final on Sunday, but the China-born teenager received plenty of support from Olympic viewers around the host nation.
The 17-year old was born in a village in eastern Anhui province, around 1,200 kilometers from Beijing, and adopted by an American couple when she was 16 months old.
She grew up in Vail in Colorado, where she immediately took to skiing.
“I could never imagine her life without her adopted parents. I feel complicated reading these news about her,” one user wrote on China’s Twitter-like Weibo.
Ahead of the Beijing Games, Owens said that things were going to come “full circle” for her when she returned to China.
“When my skis touch the snow in China, it’s going to be a really special moment for me because I get to ski in the Olympic Games in my birth country.”
Online, viewers in China appeared surprised to hear about Owens’ background and sent her messages of support after she tumbled and fell during a practice session last week.
“She did well and she’s just 17 she has a long way to go,” said another Weibo user just minutes after Owens missed out on participating in the final.
Owens came in tenth in the second round of Sunday’s event, meaning she is unable to advance to the last round.
(Reporting by Mari Saito and Winni Zhou; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
