Jeremy Lin on GQ Magazine
Jeremy Lin’s rise to stardom is one that will remain in the history books for Asian Americans. In 2012, his popularity became so overwhelming that it called for its own title: Linsanity. A documentary Linsanity was created to show the frenzy that is Jeremy Lin’s breakthrough career and how he rose to be the icon he is today.
Recently, the athlete appeared on 60 Minutes to share his experiences. He discussed his popularity in Asia, how he managed to balance his education with basketball, and what it meant to be an Asian-American playing basketball. When asked about the racial slurs thrown at him during games, Lin responded:
“Pretty much anything you could think of from stereotypical, you know, Asian food, you know making fun of my complexion, my skin color, or, you know, the way Asians look, pretty much everything.”
We don’t know whats in store for the future of this athlete, but we already know that he has inspired the Asian community worldwide. Watch the interview below:
It’s that time of year again – Forbes Korea unveiled their power ranking for celebrities for 2013. For the last two years, the nine member Girls’ Generation topped the power ranking list. Did they maintain the top position this year? Click on to find out!
World badminton champion Howard Bach goes for the kill in his last Olympics this summer in London.
ISSUE: Summer 2012
DEPT: Personalities
STORY: Melody Lee
PHOTO: Melly Lee
Growing up, Howard Bach had always been quite the athlete — he ran track, played baseball and soccer — but he eventually decided to stick with badminton. Today, he is a world champion in the sport and is training for his third, and last, Olympics in the badminton men’s doubles event.
At the age of 5, Bach picked up the sport from his father, who used to play back in Vietnam. He moved to an Olympic training center at the age of 16 and has since racked up a long list of accomplishments in the sport. With his partner, Indonesian American Tony Gunawan, Bach made history in 2005 when the pair won the gold medal in the men’s doubles competition at the World Badminton Championships, becoming the first American badminton athletes to ever medal at a World Championship. In 2008, Bach and his doubles partner, Bob Malaythong, made it to the quarterfinalsof the Olympic Games in Beijing, advancing farther in the Olympic sport than any other Americans in history.
Now facing his last Olympics — at 33, he’s married and has a baby boy — Bach is training hard. His regular routine consists of everything from weightlifting to track to on-court training two times a day, five days a week. Bach is hoping to end his badminton career as a full-time athlete with a medal, but regardless, he plans to stay involved in the sport and maybe even raise its profile in the U.S. “America has one of the best athletic pools around the world, yet you see mainly Asians in the U.S. playing badminton,” he says. “That mentality should change. We have a lot of athletes of different ethnic backgrounds who are equally as athletic who would definitely enjoy the game as well.”
Bach credits his family, friends and sponsors for his success. “Being an athlete, it’s not enough to just have the talent; you need to have the environment to make an athlete successful,” he says. “I always mention it as the team behind the team, the support group, and I’ve been pretty blessed to have that support group behind me.”
— Melody Lee
Dedication is an attribute that every Olympic athlete needs and Rena Wang is no exception. Having taken the past two years off from school in order to train rigorously in badminton, Wang’s hard work is finally paying off.
