Beijing, March 02, 2024, The Europe Today: Yang Siqi, the 14-year-old surfing prodigy, achieved a groundbreaking milestone for China as she clinched her Olympic berth at the World Surfing Games (WSG) in Arecibo, Puerto Rico on Friday. Yang’s remarkable performance in repechage round 6, where she topped with an impressive 11.83 points, secures her place among the 24 women set to participate in the upcoming Olympic Games. She is set to become the first Chinese surfer to compete in the Olympics since the sport’s debut at the Tokyo Olympics.
Expressing her elation, Yang stated, “I ranked first in my heat while I didn’t anticipate that I have qualified for the Olympic Games.” She shared the unexpected nature of her qualification, narrating the moment when staff asked her to stay, and she realized she had earned the Olympic berth. “I was super excited when being informed of that and I felt my hands trembling. I achieved the goal which I had set in 2022,” added the thrilled Chinese teenage surfer.
Yang’s journey from her debut appearance in the WSG in 2022 to her historic Olympic qualification showcased a remarkable improvement in her surfing skills and heat strategy. Notably, she earned the highest single wave score of the day for women, securing a score of 7.50.
Reflecting on the challenging conditions during the competition, Yang said, “I didn’t expect that I would qualify [for the Olympics] before my repechage round 6 action, so all I thought was to relax, do my best and make it to the next round. The waves were especially difficult, the current was strong, so I was tired to just stay down there.”
As the first Chinese surfer to make it to the Olympic stage in surfing, Yang Siqi’s accomplishment marks a significant stride for China in the realm of water sports. The surfing competition at the Paris 2024 Olympics is scheduled to unfold over four days, within a nine-day window starting from July 27 at Teahupo’o on the island of Tahiti in French Polynesia.
