Beijing: China’s skateboarder Zheng Haohao has made history by becoming the youngest Olympian from her country at just 11 years old.

While Dimitrios Loundras holds the record as the youngest Olympian at 10 years and 218 days in 1896, Zheng is the youngest in the upcoming Paris Olympics, which begin on July 26.

After competing in the Qualification Series in Budapest and Shanghai, Zheng secured her spot at the quadrennial event. She isn’t the only teenage athlete; Quincy Wilson and Hezly Rivera from the USA, along with Lola Tambling and Sky Brown from Great Britain, are all 16-year-olds participating in the prestigious event.

Meanwhile, Zheng is close to setting a monumental record. She stands a significant chance of becoming the youngest Olympic champion, potentially breaking an 86-year-old record held by Denmark’s Inge Sorensen, who won gold in the 200m breaststroke at 12 years and 24 days old in 1938.

Zheng began skateboarding at seven years old, training at a club managed by Chen Wanqin, father of Asian Games champion Chen Ye. Her former coach, Wei Naizhang, remarked on her rapid learning ability and relentless determination.

“Despite her young age, she was incredibly concentrated on skateboarding. If she failed to execute a trick, she would instantly pinpoint the issue and rectify it,” Wei commented.

In the Budapest Olympic Qualifier Series, Zheng took a bold risk, scoring 72.6 points and surpassing the minimum qualification score of 67.34 points in the final round.