Meet 11-year-old skateboarder Zheng Haohao, the youngest Olympian competing in Paris
What were you doing during the summer when you were 11 years old?
Chances are you were not competing on the world's biggest stage at the Olympics trying to win a medal, but that's exactly what 11-year-old skateboarder Zheng Haohao is doing. And to think, she only took up the sport five years ago, soaring through the rankings to earn her spot at the Olympics.
Zheng is representing China during the 2024 Paris Games and was the youngest athlete competing, in becoming her country's youngest Olympian. She doesn't turn 12 until Sunday and is currently 26th in the World Skateboarding Ranking.
Here is more to know about Zheng:
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Is Zheng Haohao the youngest Olympic athlete ever?
Zheng was born on August 11, 2012, in Huizhou, China, but she isn't the youngest to ever compete on the Olympic stage. That honor goes to Dimitrios Loundras, who was only 10 years old when he competed at the 1896 Athens Games and won a bronze medal in the team parallel bars. Luigina Giavotti was only 11 when she helped the Italian gymnastics team win a silver medal at the 1928 games in Amsterdam.
What event did Zheng Haohao compete in?
Zheng competed in the skateboard park, where skaters perform on a concrete bowl featuring bumps and ramps and are judged on the creativity and difficulty of their jumps.
Zheng Haohao at Paris Olympics
In the preliminary contest in the women's park competition, Zheng scored 63.19 points and was eliminated in the first round, finishing in 18th place after she fell in two of her runs. Arisa Trew, a 14-year-old from Australia, took home the gold, Japan's Hiraki Cocona won the silver, and Sky Brown of Great Britain won the bronze.
"I'm very proud of myself. I feel tired and happy," Haohao said after the competition. "Honestly, I wasn’t too nervous. My family was here cheering me on. I’m very happy. It was an experience to be here. I’d like to come back in Los Angeles 2028."