- 11-year-old Chinese skateboarder Zheng Haohao has become the youngest Olympian at the Paris Games.
On Tuesday, a historical moment unfolded as an 11-year-old skateboarder made her Olympic debut, establishing herself as the youngest athlete of the Paris Games.
Haohao hails from China and holds the title of the youngest Olympian from her country as she competed in the women’s park preliminaries.
In her first heat, she struggled to qualify for the final, falling in two out of her three runs; only the top eight performers progressed.
Originally from Huizhou, Haohao was born after the London Olympics and made a significant push in the Olympic Qualifier Series held in Shanghai and Budapest, achieving a world ranking of 26 to secure her spot in Paris.
This marks an extraordinary accomplishment for the Chinese skateboarding prodigy, especially with Team GB’s 16-year-old Sky Brown also competing in the later heats against 11 other contenders for medals.
Chinese skateboarding star Zheng Haohao, 11, became the Paris Games’ youngest Olympian
The 11-year-old (right) was born after the London Games and performed in the park prelims
Haohao becomes the youngest person to compete for the Republic of China
The Chinese rising star put together a respectable run but fell short in qualifying for the final
Brown, also making headlines during the Tokyo Games three years ago, became the youngest medalist from Great Britain when she secured bronze at just 13 years and 28 days old.
Despite recently suffering a dislocated shoulder, Brown has managed to recover in time to participate in the upcoming prelim rounds.
She sustained the injury just before her trip to Paris.
Additionally, she had previously been recovering from a knee injury that caused her to tear her medial collateral ligament while filming in April.
Another promising talent from Team GB, 16-year-old Lola Tambling, also competed alongside Brown in the prelims.
Haohao’s participation, while captivating fans, highlights a significant 40-year age gap between her and the oldest competitor, Team GB’s Andy Macdonald, who is 51.
Haohao competes with Team GB’s Sky Brown, 16, who won bronze in Tokyo
The 16-year-old recently dislocated her shoulder but has recovered just in time for the prelims
Brown is ranked fourth in the world and has shown resilience in coming back from a knee injury
In the preliminaries, Haohao placed 10th out of 12 contestants, achieving a score of 63.19 in her first run. Unfortunately, she scored only 16.01 and 16.07 in her second and third runs due to falls, with her top score determining her final standings.
It’s noteworthy that, at just 11 years old, Haohao is not the youngest athlete in Olympic history.
The title of the youngest Olympian belongs to Greek gymnast Dimitros Loundras, who participated in the 1896 Athens Olympics at the age of only 10.
