US skateboarder: "There was terrible racism in French team"

US skateboarder Julian Agliardi has claimed he faced racism while attempting to compete for France.

Agliardi, whose father is French, initially planned to represent France in international competitions, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

“I tried to skate for France — and it was an absolute nightmare,” the athlete said in an interview.

“I went to Paris for the Far'n High tournament and was the youngest member of the French team. In the end, I was the only one to make it to the final. Then the coach told me: ‘The team is very disappointed with their performance, so we are leaving the tournament. If you want to skate in the final — go ahead, but you will be expelled from the team.’ I skated in the final…”

Following the incident, Agliardi was removed from the French team. He believes the decision was partly driven by racism. His mother is American, and his grandmother is Chinese, and he says members of the French team often reminded him that he was not “fully French.”

“There was terrible racism in the French team. Some people said I was only ‘half-French.’ Ultimately, the coach did not allow me to participate in enough qualifying events to make the Olympics. I then asked the International Olympic Committee to release me from the French team and joined the US team instead,” Agliardi said.

By Aghakazim Guliyev