11-year-old skateboarder is China’s youngest Olympian – That’s Shenzhen

11-year-old Zheng Haohao from Huizhou, Guangdong is the youngest athlete from China and one of the youngest in the world to participate in the 2024 Olympic Games.

Zheng will be traveling to Paris this summer to compete in the women’s park skateboarding event. The park competition features a varied course that combines bowls and bends that athletes use to build speed and perform aerial tricks.

Image via Weixin

Zheng only started skateboarding four years ago on the advice of a friend and within a year he finished 13th out of more than 60 competitors at the 2020 China National Games.

Her natural talent has been showcased with her repertoire of tricks, including jumps, somersaults and side spins – all difficult moves for skaters even twice her age.

Qualifications for the Paris Olympics began in Shanghai in May. Zheng finished only 20th out of 44 competitors and her summer Olympic aspirations seemed a pipe dream – despite her solid performances on the halfpipe.

Image via Xinhua

However, at the second qualifying round in Budapest, her score improved by more than 20 points and secured her a spot in the women’s bowl skateboarding event. The bowl/pool event is essentially an empty swimming pool in which skaters perform multiple somersaults and grabs in rapid succession.

The young lady has already received a lot of attention, but despite her age, she handles the pressure well. “I want to tell the world that even though I am young, I can skate well. I want to make the dreams of many adults come true,” she wrote on Weibo.

Zheng even broke her middle finger during training and admits she is at a disadvantage because her slender arms and legs prevent her from going faster.

Despite her small stature and young age, Zheng is sure to impress athletes and spectators from around the world when the Olympic Games are held in Paris from July 26 to August 11.

(Cover photo via WeChat)