Haohao Zheng, a prodigious 11-year-old skater, has made history as the youngest athlete at the Paris 2024 Olympics and one of the youngest in Olympic history. Haohao debuted in the park skateboarding event during the qualifiers at the track set up in Place de la Concorde.

Born in Huizhou and about to turn 12 on August 12, Haohao is China’s youngest Olympic athlete ever. She received a warm ovation when her name was announced for the qualifiers and completed her first run, skating for 45 seconds and scoring 63.19 out of 100.

Despite her impressive debut, Haohao didn’t advance to the finals, as the cutoff for the top eight finalists was around 80 points. However, her participation was a source of pride for her and her family. "I’m very proud of myself. I feel tired and happy. 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," Haohao told reporters in English.

In her three qualifying runs, Haohao scored 63.19, 16.01, and 16.07 out of 100, with the highest score being used for the qualification. Although she didn’t make it to the finals, her performance was noteworthy and well-received by the spectators.

Compared to other young Olympic athletes, Haohao lags behind in precociousness compared to Greek gymnast Dimitros Loundras, who competed at just 10 years old in the 1896 Athens Games and won a bronze medal in the team parallel bars. She is also behind Italian gymnast Luigina Giavotti, who won a silver medal in team gymnastics at Amsterdam 1928 at the age of 11 years and 300 days.

Haohao Zheng has left a significant mark in Olympic history and aims to continue her career at the Los Angeles 2028 Games.