Logan Maile Lei Tom

Logan Tom is an Olympic indoor volleyball and professional beach volleyball player. She appeared in the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games. In 2004, Tom posed in a bikini for an FHM magazine article on female Olympic athletes. She was ranked No.91 in the FHM 100 Sexiest Women of 2005.

Tom is of Chinese Hawaiian descent. Her paternal grandfather was Chinese and her grandmother Hawaiian. Her father, Melvyn Tom played NFL football. In 2008 Tom competed at the Beijing Olympic Games where she won a silver medal and was named the "Top Scorer."

"Beijing is my grandfather's hometown," said Tom. "I've been to many cities in China and I know I have a lot of fans here. Though I don't speak Chinese, I feel a kind of warm feeling when competing in China."

Tara Kirk

Tara Kirk is an American swimmer. She set the world record in the 100 meter breaststroke at the 2004 Women's NCAA Championships and won silver in the 2004 Athens Olympics 400 meter Medley Relay.

Kirk is half Chinese. Her maternal grandfather came from Guangdong but settled in the Philippines where he married a Philippine of Chinese origin. Kirk's mother speaks both Mandarin and Cantonese.

She is enthusiastic about Chinese culture. "It's very exciting to see where I come from. I feel comfortable in China, talking with Chinese people," says Kirk. Kirk is studying Chinese. "I'm working hard on the language. But I have to admit my pronunciation is poor."

Melissa Wu

The Australian diver has a Chinese name – Wu Liqun. She began diving in 2003 and won the 10-meter competition at the Australian Open Diving Championships in 2006, becoming the youngest champion in Australia's history. With Briony Cole, Wu won silver at the Beijing Olympics in the synchronized 10m platform, becoming the youngest Australian ever in history to win an Olympic medal in diving.

Wu's paternal grandparents are from China. But she speaks little Chinese. When asked if her grandparents had taught her any Chinese, she thought for a while and finally said, "Ni Hao," but added "My grandmother often cooks Chinese food. I'm half Chinese."

Yolanda Chen

Yolanda Chen is a retired Russian athlete. Chen's paternal grandfather came from China. The triple jumper set an outdoor record of 14.97 meters in 1993. Chen never won an Olympic medal but was happy with the rank of world champion. She came under the spotlight again after her retirement, when she shot a set of photos for the Russian edition of Playboy.

(China.org.cn by Huang Shan, March 23, 2009)