The lovers’ texts, the online trolls and the targeting of a champion Chinese gymnast
- An Olympic gold medallist has become the recipient of online scorn for allegedly having an affair with her friend’s husband
Chinese internet users are targeting another celebrity over allegations of an extramarital affair, this time a retired champion gymnast who rose from humble beginnings to become one of the country’s best-known athletes.
The trolling began late last week after a user published a series of text messages on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like service, claiming that a gold-medal-winning gymnast had been having an affair with her friend’s husband, seducing him and setting her friend up to force her to get divorced.
Chinese internet users soon associated the texts with Jiang Yuyuan, former leader of the women’s gymnastics team and gold medallist, alleging that she was having an affair with her friend’s husband.
The identities of the recipient and sender of the texts have not been verified.
Jiang, who comes from a blue-collar family, joined the national women’s team in 2002 and won her first gold medal in the 2007 FIG Gymnastics World Cup. She went on to success in international competitions, including a gold in the team event at the 2008 Olympics Games in Beijing. She led the women’s team in 2010 and retired in 2013.
Not long after the post went viral online, a Weibo user with an unverified account and claiming to be a “coach for the Guangdong gymnastics team” shared the post and commented, “tearing a family apart for the pleasure of one individual”. The user is believed to be Tang Jian, the friend whose trust Jiang allegedly betrayed.