In the modern era, China is an Olympic powerhouse.
Every two years, Chinese athletes consistently rack up medals in the Summer and Winter Games, making them a top 10 mainstay in country-specific, all-time medal count.
Now, for the first time ever, they’ve got a chance in surfing.
As a result of her performance at the ISA World Surfing Games in Puerto Rico, 14-year-old Siqi Yang has just become the first-ever Chinese Olympic surfer, securing a ticket to Teahupo’o, Tahiti to compete in the Paris 2024 Olympics.
And her reaction to the news, despite the language barrier, is well…just priceless.
So, what do we know about young Siqi Yang?
Not much.
But, at the 2022 ISA World Surfing Games, Yang made history by becoming the best-performing Chinese surfer in the event’s history, thanks to a 29th place.
“I started surfing since 2018,” she told Olympics.com after that event. “I was so scared about it at the very beginning, but after getting through that period, surfing has made me pretty happy. It was cool that I managed to compete in the fifth repechage, I’ve learnt quite a lot from other surfers.”
Related: Surf Prodigy Erin Brooks Loses Olympic Bid for Team Canada at Paris 2024
So, she’s pretty new to the sport. But, according to South African coach of the Chinese surf team, Wade Sharp, the team may be young, but they’re improving quickly.
“Just in a short amount of time,” he said, “how much their level has grown within the sport of surfing, I think a few years down the road, you’re going to see China right up in the top earning medals, just like all the other countries.”
As for Yang, in particular, Sharp said:
“I think she has a super rad future.”
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