How a Uyghur Olympic Torchbearer Became a Divisive Symbol – The New York Times

Wearing a periwinkle neck gaiter with a flower print and the black-and-red Team China uniform, she doubled over to catch her breath after crossing the finish line. Her friend and teammate from Xinjiang, Jialin Bayani, rushed over to help her loosen her bindings. The two then linked arms and walked with their teammates out of the venue, clutching their skis.

Yilamujiang hurried through the press area after Tuesday’s event but did not stop to talk. At another competition on Saturday, she had failed to walk through a mixed zone with reporters after her race, in apparent contravention of I.O.C. guidelines. She has appeared only in Chinese state media reports since the Games started, describing her joy about her role opening the Games.

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

Yilamujiang grew up in Altay, a mountainous region in northern Xinjiang that China has described as the birthplace of skiing. Chinese archaeologists have discovered cave paintings in Altay more than 10,000 years old that appear to depict hunters on skis. In recent years, the Chinese government has sought to promote the Altay area as an international ski destination.

Yilamujiang began skiing at age 12 with her father, Yilamujiang Mulaji, who came from a mining family and was himself a national cross-country ski champion. According to state media, in 2009, Mulaji was working as an official for the local sports bureau when the authorities began a campaign to revive the skiing tradition. Mulaji started coaching a team of teenagers, including his daughter, according to a report from Xinhua in 2020.

But even training was a challenge, as Xinjiang lacked the infrastructure needed to coach world-class cross-country skiers.

Just to create trails they could use for practice, Yilamujiang and her teammates would line up in their skis and move, step by step, along the powder snow, the report said. It sometimes took them as long as eight hours to create a practice trail that was three kilometers, or less than two miles, long.