In 2025, the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau will provide a training guarantee fund of 48.148 million yuan for American skier Gu Ailing and figure skater Zhu Yi, compared to Gu Ailing having received over 47 million yuan in training fees alone in 2023. The news sparked controversy, leading the Bureau to remove the names of the athletes from the budget, with mainland media outlets such as Caixin Online also deleting related articles.
According to a report by Caixin Online on February 25, the news of the inclusion of a training and competition guarantee fund of 48.148 million yuan for skier Gu Ailing and figure skater Zhu Yi in the 2025 departmental financial budget of the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau has attracted attention from various quarters.
The report stated that the 2025 budget released by the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau on February 21 includes a fund of 48.148 million yuan for the “excellent athletes’ training and competition guarantee” in the Winter Sports Management Center. It mentioned that the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics gold medalist Gu Ailing, along with figure skating star Zhu Yi, have signed contracts with the Beijing Sports Bureau to continue representing Beijing in competitions and strive for good results at the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics.
The official website of the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau showed that the total budget for 2025 is approximately 191 million yuan, indicating that the training fees for Gu Ailing and Zhu Yi exceed 25% of the Bureau’s total budget.
Furthermore, Caixin Online cited data from the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau, stating that in 2023, Gu Ailing received 47.379 million yuan in funding, while Zhu Yi received 1.45 million yuan in 2024.
This news immediately sparked discussion, leading the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau to replace Gu Ailing and Zhu Yi’s names in the budget with “the city’s key ice and snow athletes group,” comprising 2 athletes and still receiving 48.148 million yuan in funding.
Caixin Online deleted the article, and other mainland media followed suit in deleting related reports.
The “Unicorn Workshop” questioned in a post that if the 2025 budget is implemented, nearly 100 million yuan of public funds will be spent solely on these two athletes. Instead of spending such a large sum on a few individuals, it suggested investing the limited financial resources in improving sports and fitness facilities, enhancing campus sports levels, increasing public sports activities, and covering a larger population, thus strengthening people’s physical fitness while stimulating more sports consumption.
The article especially criticized the deletion and alteration of the financial budget explanation when the issue gained attention. It questioned whether removing the athletes’ names and replacing them with the guise of “excellent athletes” could silence the discussions.
Some netizens commented on social media platforms: “The inclusion of training funds in the fiscal budget has drawn attention, with an annual amount exceeding 47 million yuan. Behind the gold medals, it is the hard-earned money of the people. Would you support such a gold medal?”
Another netizen mentioned, “Personal training funds are included in the Beijing Municipal government’s fiscal budget, with an amount exceeding 47 million yuan. If calculated based on the 500 yuan monthly subsidy for rural low-income households, her annual training funds could support 80,000 people.”
At the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, 18-year-old Gu Ailing represented the Chinese team and won two gold medals and one silver in three freestyle skiing events. However, there were criticisms from the public questioning Gu Ailing’s failure to effectively renounce her American citizenship before competing for the Chinese team, which not only goes against Chinese law but also violates Olympic regulations.