Zhu Xueying (left) and Liu Lingling pose after the Women's Trampoline Final of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games on Friday. Photo: VCG

Tokyo Olympic trampoline champion Zhu Xueying donated her Olympic gold medal to a local sports museum, becoming the first Chinese athlete to donate her Tokyo Olympic medal. The medal is the "peeled medal" which has been a hot topic on the internet.

On Saturday, the Olympic champion from North China's Tianjin municipality donated her Olympic gold medal to the museum. Zhu said she wanted more people to see the Olympic gold medal and pass on the Olympic spirit, and hopes it will honor Tianjin, where she was raised. The Tianjin Sports Museum approached her with an ambassador certificate and a donation certificate, reported local media Jin Yun.

Previously, Zhu had posted on China's Twitter-like platform Sina Weibo that her gold medal can "peel off," which triggered a heated debate among netizens as well as concerns about the quality of the medals of the Tokyo Olympics. In response, the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee said that the thin coating is meant to prevent small scratches and stains from appearing on the medals and is not part of it.

After the incident, some netizens questioned whether Zhu was doing it for publicity, but more netizens expressed their respect for the generous Olympic champion. "Donate this piece, she can get more gold medals later," one netizen said.

Global Times