Kaohsiung: For Taiwanese-Swedish artistic gymnast Tonya Paulsson, who joined Sweden's gymnastics national team in 2016, competing internationally is nothing new. Her accolades include helping Team Sweden reach the podium at the Nordic Championships in 2016-2018, as well as earning a bronze medal at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games. However, the upcoming Asian Gymnastics Championships in Jecheon, South Korea, in mid-June will mark a new chapter in her career. For the first time, Paulsson will represent Taiwan -- her mother's homeland -- instead of Sweden, where she has lived for more than 20 years.According to Focus Taiwan, Paulsson announced her decision to switch her nationality to Taiwan in November 2024, a move approved by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) in late February. Paulsson received a berth in Taiwan's national team after earning her spot at the National Intercollegiate Games held from April 27 to May 1.Now 21, Paulsson says artistic gymnastics is the only sport she's ever truly commit ted to, and it all began by chance. When she was a child playing at a local playground, a neighbor who was a gymnastics coach noticed her exceptional flexibility and agility. Unlike most gymnasts, who typically start training at age three or four, Paulsson was already eight. But after seeing her performance in the first class, her coach told her she had potential.Paulsson often visited Taiwan during the summer vacation, never compromising her gymnastics training. To keep up her regimen, her mother reached out to Cheng Kun-chieh, who coaches the gymnastics team at Taipei Municipal Datong High School. Cheng welcomed Paulsson to train with them, a connection that eventually paved the way for her nationality switch. Cheng has arranged for Paulsson to compete at the Asian Championships and the FISU World University Games in Germany this August, where he hopes she can win Taiwan's first-ever artistic gymnastics medal at the Games.Since moving her training to Taiwan, Paulsson said she has received more support a nd resources than she did in Sweden. "Here, I just take the elevator from the sixth floor to the first floor. I don't have to worry about anything other than gymnastics." Also, she said being surrounded by Olympic medalists at Taiwan's National Sports Training Center has been motivating.After the World University Games, Paulsson will begin a bachelor's program in civil law at the University of California, Berkeley. But her gymnastics career will continue. "I'll be doing college gymnastics for the school and continuing to train to represent Taiwan," she said, reaffirming her commitment to the 2026 Asian Games and World Cups. "My main goal is the 2028 Olympics."