China’s youngest Olympian is heading to Paris with a relaxed mindset, hoping to fulfil the dream many twice her age have of winning a medal.
Zheng Haohao, 11, from Guangdong province in southern China, started skateboarding at the age of seven on a friend’s recommendation.
The youngster specialises in bowl skateboarding, which involves a hollowed-out area with a series of intricate curves.
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Her repertoire of tricks includes jumps, flips and lateral spins, combined in various sequences.
Since starting skateboarding four years ago, Zheng’s dream has been to compete in the Olympics.
Her talent quickly became evident and, in 2020, at the National Games of China, she finished 13th out of more than 60 participants.
In subsequent competitions, she steadily became one of the top skateboarders in China.
Once, during training, she fractured her right middle finger but did not allow that to hinder her progress.
“It was painful. But I did not want to let go of the years of effort I had put in, so I chose to persevere,” she said in an interview with the International Olympic Committee.
Ironically, the move that injured her became her signature technique.
In May, at the Paris Olympics’ skateboarding qualification held in Shanghai, Zheng was ranked 20th of 44 participants.
During an interview with mainland media, she assessed her pros and cons, acknowledging that her advantage compared to other competitors lies in having more compact techniques.
“However, my weakness is my slender arms and legs, which hinder me from achieving faster speeds. I will focus on enhancing my physical fitness in strength training,” Zheng said.
Later, at a competition in Budapest, her score improved by more than 20 points compared to that which she achieved in Shanghai.
With accumulated points, she eventually secured a spot in the Paris Olympics women’s bowl skateboarding event.
Zheng is China’s youngest Olympic athlete and one of the youngest in the world.
She sees her coming trip to Paris more as a journey than a competition and says she does not think of it as a “psychological burden”.
“I don’t want to put any pressure on myself. I just want to show my best in Paris,” she wrote on Weibo.
“I want to tell the world that, even though I am young, I can skate well. I want to fulfil the dreams many adults have,” she said.
The youngster has attracted widespread attention on mainland social media.
“She is only 11 years old and I’m sure she has a bright future ahead of her,” one observer wrote on Weibo.
The Paris Olympics will be held in France from July 26 to August 11.
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