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Gold Medalist in Race Walking Gets Chinese Waiver
Chinese Olympic authorities will allow Chen Yueling, a 1992 women's gold medalist in race walking who recently became a US citizen, to compete on the American team in Sydney next month, reversing an earlier decision, the US Olympic Committee said on Thursday.
The Chinese Olympic Committee had initially rejected the request for a waiver, which the International Olympic Committee requires when athletes have been citizens of a new nation for fewer than three years. Chen became a US citizen in April.
"This sportsmanlike gesture on the part of the Chinese Olympic Committee signals another chapter in the continuing warm and positive relationship we enjoy with them," USOC President Bill Hybl said in a statement.
Chen finished second in the 20-kilometre race-walking event at the US Olympic trials in Sacramento, Calif. last month, qualifying her conditionally for the US Olympic team at the September Sydney Olympics, pending resolution of the waiver issue.
The USOC said the reversal came after Hybl spoke on Wednesday night on the telephone with his Chinese counterpart.
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