Ashley Lin

Ashley Lin or Lin Shan (Chinese: 林姗; born March 12, 2003) is a Chinese-American figure skater, who represents China in ladies' singles. She is the 2020 Chinese national bronze medalist. She won the 2017 U.S. national junior bronze medal, before switching to representing China internationally.

Lin was born in Frisco, Texas on March 12, 2003 to Chinese immigrants from Shanghai. Her parents both work in computer companies. Lin became a naturalized Chinese citizen in early 2019, and thus relinquished her U.S. citizenship, as China does not allow dual nationality.

Early career

Lin began skating in 2008. She was the 2016 U.S. national novice pewter medalist.

2016–2017 season

Lin was assigned to her first international event, 2016 JGP Slovenia, where she placed sixth. She won Midwestern Sectionals and advanced to the 2017 U.S. Championships, where she won bronze.

2017–2018 season

Lin again placed sixth at 2017 JGP Latvia to start the season. Competing in the senior division, she won the pewter medal at Midwestern Sectionals and qualified for the 2018 U.S. Championships. Lin was 21st after the short program at the 2018 U.S. Championships, and later withdrew from the free skating for unspecified reasons.

2018–2019 season

Lin opened her season with a fifth-place finish in the junior division at the 2018 Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy. She made her senior international debut at 2018 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, where she earned personal bests in all segments to place fifth overall. Lin then competed at 2018 CS Inge Solar Memorial – Alpen Trophy, where she narrowly missed the podium, finishing in fourth 0.06 points behind Australia's Brooklee Han after a free skating comeback.

Lin qualified to the 2019 U.S. Championships, but withdrew in January to begin the process of switching nationalities.

2019–2020 season

Lin officially switched to representing her parents' native country of China in 2019, as part of the country's initiative to recruit top athletes leading up to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. According to International Skating Union rules for switching nationalities, she was required to sit out international competition for a year dating from her last international appearance, making her ineligible for Challenger Series and Junior Grand Prix/Grand Prix events.

Lin won the bronze medal at the 2019–20 Chinese Championships in September behind An Xiangyi and Chen Hongyi. Her coach, Chen Lu, told media that they were aiming to refine details and increase Lin's difficulty in the lead-up to the Olympics.

The Chinese Skating Association arranged for Lin to train in Moscow, Russia for two weeks in October, with coaches Eteri Tutberidze, Sergei Dudakov, and Daniil Gleikhengauz.

CS: Challenger Series; GP: Grand Prix; JGP: Junior Grand Prix. Pewter medals (4th place) awarded only at U.S. national, sectional, and regional events.

For China

For the United States

For China

For the United States