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Dilnigar Ilhamjan

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This article is about a person whose name includes a patronymic. The article properly refers to the person by her given name, Dilnigar, and not as Ilhamjan.
Dilnigar Ilhamjan
Dinigeer at the FIS Cross-Country World Cup 2020 in Dresden
Personal information
Native nameدىلنىگار ئىلھامجان (Dilnigar Ilhamjan)
Born (2001-05-03) May 3, 2001 (age 23)[1]
Altay City, Xinjiang, China
Sport
SportCross-country skiing
Turned pro2017

Dilnigar Ilhamjan (Uyghur: دىلنىگار ئىلھامجان), also pronounced in Mandarin as Dinigeer Yilamujiang (Chinese: 迪妮格尔·衣拉木江; born May 3, 2001), is a Chinese cross-country skier of Uyghur ethnicity, born in Altay, Xinjiang.[2] She is the first Chinese cross-country skier to win a medal in an FIS event.[3] She made her maiden Olympic appearance during the 2022 Winter Olympics,[4] where she was one of the two last torch bearers.

She is a representative to the 19th Communist Youth League Congress.[5]

Personal life

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Her father, who taught her to ski and is still her coach,[6] received a bronze medal in the 1993 national cross-country skiing competition.[7]

Sports career

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Originally competing as a track and field athlete, she started learning to ski when she was 12.[8] She pursued cross-country skiing initially primarily as a hobby. In 2012 she started taking part in local competitive sports events as a long-distance runner.[9] She first started skiing competitively in 2017. Norwegian coach Kristian Bjune Sveen travelled to Xinjiang to give her training, while Dilnigar also spent 3 years training in Norway herself, alongside Bayani Jialin, a Chinese skier of Kazakh ethnicity.[10][11][12] She placed 2nd at the FIS China City Sprint Beijing 2019,[13] as well as 2nd at the Norwegian Norgescup at Konnerud.[14] This made her the first Chinese cross-country skier to win a medal in an FIS event.[3]

In 2019, she won a silver medal at the FIS Beijing Cross Country Skiing Points Grand Prix.[15]

2022 Beijing Winter Olympics

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Main article: Concerns and controversies at the 2022 Winter Olympics

At the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics opening ceremony, she was one of the two last torch bearers, lighting the Olympic cauldron alongside Zhao Jiawen.[16][17] She became the first Uyghur and the first from Altay, the likely origin of skiing, to light the cauldron.[18]

Due to earlier backlash surrounding the Xinjiang internment camps and persecution of Uyghurs in China, there was some speculation about the message China was intending to send with Dinigeer's selection.[19] Her selection sparked condemnation from human rights groups accusing China of politicizing the Olympics.[20][21] However, the International Olympic Committee welcomed and defended the decision of China to select her as one of the torchbearers of the opening ceremony and insisted that since she was one of the participants, she had the right to compete and take part in any ceremony.[22][23]

She competed in the women's 15km skiathlon event and placed 43rd.[24] After the match, she exited through a separate aisle, without passing through the mixed zone where she could be interviewed by the press.[25] She was scheduled to race in the women's 4 x 5 km relay on 12 February, but never showed up. Unnamed sources claimed that she was physically and mentally exhausted from "having the eyes of the world on her".[26] She participated in the women's 30km freestyle event on the last day of competition.[27]

Later career

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In 2024 she won gold in cross-country skiing and silver in the women's individual sprint (traditional technique) at the Chinese National Cross-Country Skiing Championship[28] as well as a silver medal at the 2024 China National Winter Games double pursuit.[29][30]

Political activities

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In 2022 she was listed as an outstanding member of the Communist Youth League.[31] She is a representative to the 19th Youth League Congress.[5]

References

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  1. ^ "迪妮格尔·衣拉木江 - Dinigeer YILAMUJIANG 越野滑雪 - 2022年北京冬奥会". Archived from the original on 2022-02-05. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  2. ^ "Who is Dinigeer Yilamujiang, the lighter of the Olympic cauldron?". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 2022-02-06. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  3. ^ a b "Uyghur athlete lights Olympic Cauldron as Beijing 2022 officially opens". Inside the Games. 4 February 2022. Archived from the original on 4 February 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  4. ^ "Dinigeer Yilamujiang". Olympics Beijing 2022. Archived from the original on 4 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  5. ^ a b 青网励志李婧怡. "中国共产主义青年团第十九次全国代表大会代表名单". 19th.gqt.org.cn. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  6. ^ "赛场父女兵 迪妮格尔·衣拉木江和教练父亲圆梦冬运". finance.sina.cn. 2024-02-15. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  7. ^ "Dinigeer Yilamujiang, a Uyghur who helped light the cauldron, made her Olympic skiing debut". Washington Post. 5 February 2022. Archived from the original on 5 February 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  8. ^ Seow, Beiyi (5 February 2022). "Beijing Olympics puts young Uyghur athlete at centre of controversy". news.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 2022-02-05. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  9. ^ "中国新飞人从新疆起跑——17岁小将艾力西尔连破全国纪录的背后". www.xjtvs.com.cn. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  10. ^ Budalen, Andreas (2022-01-27). "OL-treneren er en av få som ble igjen: – Håper Kina knuser Norge langt ned i støvlene". NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Archived from the original on 2022-01-30. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  11. ^ "Hun er uigur og har trent i Norge i tre år. Fredag tente hun OL-ilden". www.aftenposten.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). 4 February 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-02-05. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  12. ^ "Idrettsavtalen med Kina er en skamplett for norsk idrett, skriver Andreas Selliaas". Morgenbladet (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  13. ^ "FIS China City Sprint Beijing 2019". www.fis-ski.com. Archived from the original on 2022-02-04. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  14. ^ Auklend, Erik Sergio (2019-01-11). "Fossesholm raskest av alle - inkludert Skistad". Drammens Tidende (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 2024-08-06. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  15. ^ "新京报 - 好新闻，无止境". www.bjnews.com.cn. Archived from the original on 2022-02-04. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  16. ^ "Beijing 2022 Opening Ceremony - Olympic cauldron lighting ends spectacular show". Archived from the original on 2022-02-05. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  17. ^ "China chooses Uyghur athlete to help deliver Olympic flame amid human rights scrutiny". The Hill. 4 February 2022. Archived from the original on 4 February 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  18. ^ Golden, Andrew. "Who is Dinigeer Yilamujiang, the lighter of the Olympic cauldron?". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 6 February 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  19. ^ "What message did China send by choosing Uyghur torchbearer?". Associated Press. 2022-02-05. Archived from the original on 5 February 2022. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  20. ^ "Winter Olympics: China stirs controversy with Uighur torchbearer". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 2022-02-05. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  21. ^ Ingle, Sean (2022-02-05). "China bags Winter Games gold and a rap for 'cynical ploy' of Uyghur torchbearer". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Archived from the original on 2022-02-05. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
  22. ^ "IOC defends torch bearer choice amid concerns over China's treatment of Uyghurs". 7news.com.au. 5 February 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  23. ^ "IOC says torch-bearer Dinigeer Yilamujiang's ethnicity not a factor". South China Morning Post. 2022-02-06. Archived from the original on 2024-08-06. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  24. ^ "women's 15km skiathlon event". Olympics Beijing 2022. Archived from the original on 7 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  25. ^ "A Uyghur Skier Became the Face of China's Winter Olympics. The Next Day, She Vanished From the Spotlight". The Wall Street Journal. 2022-02-06. Archived from the original on 2022-02-07.
  26. ^ "Uyghur torch bearer dropped from China's relay team". SupChina. 2022-02-14. Archived from the original on 2022-02-15. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  27. ^ "Cross-Country Skiing- Women's 30km Mass Start Free- Results" (PDF). Zhangjiakou National Cross-Country Skiing Centre. February 2022. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 February 2022. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  28. ^ "别眨眼！带您看2023-2024赛季全国越野滑雪冠军赛精彩瞬间_比赛_格尔·_付浩". www.sohu.com. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  29. ^ ""十四冬"凉城赛区开赛 新疆队选手迪妮格尔·衣拉木江获银牌 -天山网 - 新疆新闻门户". www.ts.cn. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  30. ^ "第十四届全国冬季运动会". www.sport.gov.cn. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  31. ^ "全国优秀共青团员名单-中青在线". zqb.cyol.com. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dinigeer Yilamujiang.
Olympic Games
Preceded by Final Olympic torchbearer
Beijing 2022 along Zhao Jiawen 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Final Winter Olympic torchbearer
Beijing 2022 along Zhao Jiawen 		Succeeded by
TBA 2026
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