U.S. Snowboarder Fawns Over China Before Leaving Olympics

Many have been critical of Beijing’s 2022 Winter Olympics. However, one American snowboarder praised China for her experience, saying she was “so sad” to be leaving the communist nation.

Tessa Maud returned to California Saturday after posting a viral video on Weibo that praises China and the IOC’s accommodations and living conditions for athletes.

American snowboarder Tessa Maud was brought to tears by Chinese volunteers. She wept once more. Her last day in China was shared by Tessa Maud on Feb 12. Tessa said “I’m so sad”, after a few seconds of silence, “I’m going to cry on the plane, I’m going to choke, love you.” pic.twitter.com/FeWsQnhlPo

— China Economy (@CE_ChinaEconomy) February 13, 2022

The pro-China propaganda produced by the Americans was immediately seized upon by Chinese media.

“Some Chinese media commented that although she did not claim any medal, she is indeed one of the favorite foreign athletes, as some Chinese netizens said,” according to China’s state-run Global Times. “From day one, Maud used her vlogs to document her life in Beijing, especially her favorite Chinese food. Maud, her team and their teammates used chopsticks for Chinese cuisine such as Kung Pao chicken or roasted duck. ‘Everything is so good,’ Maud said in one of her videos.”

According to Breitbart.com, on Sina-Weibo (the Chinese version of Twitter) the hashtag, “she didn’t win a medal but succeeded to win the love of Chinese citizens” (which is absurdly long for a hashtag) had been viewed over 100 million times.

Maud’s videos appear to be tone-deaf and contrary to the narrative supported by a large contingent of athletes from various nations on what is really happening in the Olympic village.

Related: Costas Blasts ‘Shameless’ IOC For Allowing China To Host Winter Olympics

Many athletes and coaches have condemned China and IOC for their terrible food choices that left many athletes feeling tired and weightless.

German alpine skiing coach Christian Schwaiger said that the only things provided in catering were chips, nuts, and chocolate – options that would not sustain a 5-year-old for even a few hours.

“I’d have expected that the Olympic Committee would be capable of providing hot meals,” Schwaiger said. “There are no hot meals …This shows a lack of focus on high-performance sport.”

Athletes who have tested positive for HIV were treated the same as citizens in house arrest. Event security also made sure that athletes are not punished. Kim Meylemans (Belgian skeleton racing) posted an emotional account of her life on Instagram. It was about her decision to stop playing and to think about whether it was worth it.

It is highly unlikely that an athlete would lie about the treatment they receive, but it is strange that one individual claims that all is well, and multiple others claim otherwise. Furthermore, even though it is unclear what motivated Maud to post her videos or why she had a polar opposite experience from most of the other Olympic athletes, at the very least it is disappointing that an American would shamelessly support one of its sworn enemies.