OLYMPICS MYSTERY: Uyghur ski star breaks custom after Opening Ceremony by dodging reporters

A Chinese Uyghur athlete highlighted in the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics appeared to dodge reporters after her event, breaking International Olympic Committees media rules for athletes.

Dinigeer Yilamujiang, a 20-year-old cross-country skier for China, was selected to carry the Olympic torch with Zhao Jiawen, her teammate in the Nordic combined, during a high point of the opening festivities. 

Yilamujiang is a Uyghur, the Muslim ethnic minority group being targeted by the ruling Communist Party in China’s northwest region of Xinjiang for imprisonment and re-education that some international human rights groups have labeled a “genocide.”

The symbolism of pairing her, the only Uyghur athlete on the Chinese Olympic team, with Zhao, a member of China’s Han majority, instead of a more accomplished athlete was not lost on international observers. 

"The decision to choose Ms. Yilamujiang, rather than a more accomplished or widely known athlete, and to pair her with a member of China’s Han majority, was interpreted as Mr. Xi’s act of defiance against the global pressure campaign and decried as “offensive” by overseas Uyghur human rights groups" wrote the Wall Street Journal. 

After carrying the torch during the Opening Ceremony, Yilamujiang did not appear before the international press, raising questions as to whether the Uyghur skier was chosen merely for optics, and silenced so the state controlled press could control her narrative.

If intentional, the Chinese athletes escape is a contravention of IOC rules that require all athletes pass through a “mixed zone” where they can, but are not obligated to, take journalists’ questions.

The IOC confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that mixed-zone rules were in place but declined to comment on Yilamujiang’s no-show. She performed poorly in her first and only event less than 24 hours later, placing 43rd out of 65 competitors in her race on Saturday.

State-run media has broadcast and published its own 'exclusive coverage' of Yilamujiang since her debut at the opening ceremony, including a TV interview Sunday where the Uyghur athlete purportedly beamed about her selection for the opening ceremony. It made no mention of her ethnicity.

“That moment will encourage me every day for the rest of my life,” Ms. Yilamujiang told China’s official news agency Xinhua on Sunday, it reported. “I was so excited when I found out we were going to place the torch. It’s a huge honor for me!” 

Other videos from state-run media showed Yilamujiang’s family back home expressing pride in their daughter’s achievement.