Chinas Generation Z skateboarders have rocked the Asian Games like no one had imagined - bagging three of four gold medals of the discipline. It was not only just about the medals, but also about the energy, vitality and the uniqueness they inject into the Games.
On September 27, the youngest member of the Chinese delegation Cui Chenxi, 13, wrote her name in Chinese sports history after becoming the youngest Asian Games champion for her nation. In the same match, 18-year-old Zeng Wenhui bagged silver in womens street.
In the mens park, 15-year-old Chen Ye finished first. In mens street, Chinas 16-year-old Zhang Jie snatched a gold while his teammate 19-year-old Su Jianjun won a bronze. In the womens park final, Chinese athlete Li Yujuan, 20, won the silver medal, while Mao Jiasi, 15, won the bronze.
No doubt that skateboarding is a young and up-and-coming sport. Throughout the four days of the skateboarding competition, there was a friendly, young and relaxed atmosphere in the arena. In womens street final, seven of the eight contestants are under 18. Womens street final was even attended by the youngest athlete of the Asian Games at the age of nine. These athletes, however, showed the brilliant athleticism just like their role models, passed down from generation to generation.
No pressureSpeaking with the Global Times, the young medalists displayed a similar fighting spirit and the adherence to excellence just like the veteran athletes, but they also showed something noticeably different - their relaxed mindset toward pressure, their independence growing up as an athlete, and the unwavering support they received from their parents.
After becoming Team Chinas youngest ever Asian Games champion, Cui told the Global Times that the title did not add any extra pressure.
"I made a mistake in my first run, and on the second attempt, my coach wanted me to be steady, but I was eager to try a riskier maneuver on my own, and in the end, it worked out," Cui said.
The champion is always at ease. In the mix zone after the final, Cui instructed all the media reporters to line up and sought their opinions on where she should stand before patiently and frankly giving answers to all the questions. She said that she never actually expected the gold but she really wanted to win.
"I might be telling some of these stories in Hangzhou to my classmates when I get back," said the middle-school girl. "I think they would be happy for me."
Different from traditional sports, there is no fixed action pattern in skateboarding. It requires skaters to freely use their imagination and creativity, which is challenging and makes the sport popular among fans. Similar to earlier generations, professional skateboards often mention that they started the sport because they found it fun.
上海419最新论坛
"When I started skateboarding, I felt that it was a very exciting and thrilling sport. I felt very happy after completing each move," Chen said, comparing it to the piano and other hobbies that his father, Chen Wanqin, tried to introduce to him, but which he found boring compared with playing with a skateboard.
When asked about his interest over skateboarding, Zhang Jie, who just won mens street, also shrugged grand expressions, but accredited all to "cool and fun."
Family supportThe Gen-Z athletes also share similar positive family atmosphere. Usually training on their own without a professional team, they hailed the support they received from their family.
After winning the final, Cui put on the Chinese national flag on her back and skated around the venue to a loud cheer. In the audience sat her father, who first introduced Cui to skateboarding and took her training at the age of nine.
For Chen, the training area made by Chens father became the focus of media attention after his inspirational win. In an interview with the Global Times, Chen expressed his gratitude to his father as the person he most wanted to thank after winning the gold medal.
"Im grateful to my father for building two bowls for training for me and studying skateboarding skills with me," Chen said. Chen said that he fell in love with skateboarding when he first encountered the sport in a shopping mall at the age of 8.
Once Chen Ye showed his true passion, his father respected him the choice and supported him. In 2019, Chen Ye joined the Guangdong provincial skateboarding team. To help his sons training, Chen Wanqin and his wife rented a warehouse of more than 200 square meters to build a practice bowl for him.
After finishing second in the mens skateboarding park event at the 2021 National Games of China, Chen Wanqin built a new 900-square-meter skateboard park with a max height of nine meters in 2022 in order to improve his sons performance. Chen Ye said that during that time, his father quit his job and even spent all his savings to support his passion.
The Chinese skateboarding team, composed of athletes born after the year of 2000, continues to make breakthroughs, and the future looks promising. Showered by love, support and confidence, they are never afraid to share their ambition to go to the top.
"First I will concentrate on getting there, then I can make a big attack," Cui told the Global Times when asked about Paris 2024.
相关文章For humans, the appeal of looking at faces starts before birthFascination with faces is nature, not nurture, suggests a new study of third-trimester fetuses. Scientists have long known that babies like looking at faces more than other objects. But research published online June 8 in Current Biology offers evidence that this preference develops before birth. In the first-ever study of prenatal visual perception, fetuses were […]
Climate change is shifting when Europe’s rivers floodAcross Europe, rivers aren’t flooding when they used to. Long-term changes in temperature and precipitation are making some rivers flood days, weeks or even months earlier than they did 50 years ago, and pushing flooding in other areas much later, researchers report August 11 in Science. Those changes could impact people, wildlife and farms near […]
Today is the day! A last-minute guide for watching the Great American EclipseJust a stab in the dark, but you’ve probably heard: There is a total solar eclipse today, August 21. For the first time since 1979, the moon’s shadow will zip across the continental United States. The shadow will travel from Oregon to South Carolina in a swift 92 minutes. For those in the path of […]
Chengdu embraces eco-friendly sportsmanship and low-carbon competitionChengdu, the capital city of Southwest Chinas Sichuan Province, is set to become the vibrant hub of global sportsmanship as the 31st International University Sports Federation (FISU) World University Games is set to kick off on July 28, 2023, captivating athletes and spectators from around the world with a thrilling display of talent, unity, and […]
还没有评论，来说两句吧...