- In her first Instagram post since competing in the Olympics, Zhu Yi said she has come out a "stronger person."
- The US-born figure skater faced a multitude of vitriolic comments after falling while competing for China.
- The post sparked a new wave of backlash from some Chinese social media users.
"I am an Olympian; no one can take that away from me."
That's what US-born figure skater Zhu Yi posted on her Instagram account on Wednesday — her first on the platform since being attacked online throughout the Winter Games for falling while competing for China.
"It's all about the journey. I persevered through years of adversity and came out a stronger person," she wrote. "Last night was my final skate on Olympic ice, and I took in every moment of it."
In the women's singles short program event on Tuesday — her final event — Zhu finished in 27th place and did not advance to the next round.
While dozens of people positively responded to the 19-year-old's Instagram post, some social media users were quick to derisively note that Zhu included an extra line in her Chinese translation of the same post.
In Chinese, Zhu added the sentence: "Those who understand will understand."
That one line was enough to trigger a wave of backlash on China's Twitter-like platform Weibo, where several hashtags such as "Zhu Yi Ins" and "Zhu Yi updated Ins" were viewed more than 400,000 times each. In China, Instagram is referred to as "ins."
"What does 'those who understand will understand' even mean?'" a Weibo user said while calling for her to leave China. "Is it about being last in a team event? Are you uncomfortable because we haven't scolded you?"
Another user said: "It's true that no one can take away Zhu's Olympic experience, but who's the one who stole that experience which should have belonged to another girl?"
Throughout the Games, there have been accusations that Zhu received China's only women's singles spot because her father is an influential scientist, per South China Morning Post. Zhu's father, Zhu Songchun, specializes in artificial intelligence, according to CNN.
The skater has since disabled comments on her Instagram account — a move that some users called "cowardly."
Other angry Chinese social-media users also pointed out how Zhu's Instagram post was vastly different from a Weibo post she published just hours before.
On Weibo, she had thanked her supporters for their love.
"I want to thank my coach, my teammates, my family, my friends, and the audience for giving me so much warmth and encouragement," she wrote in Chinese. "Everyone's encouragement has given me the courage to allow me to compete today with more determination and calm."
Zhu has faced harsh vitriol throughout the Games even after content platforms, including Weibo, actively banned accounts and censored troll posts.