Teen gets big break as Team China's first Olympic surfer

It's perhaps one of the most unlikely sporting origin stories among the Chinese Olympic delegation — how a young girl from the mountains became Team China's first-ever Olympic surfer.

Fifteen-year-old Yang Siqi could never have imagined that she would be carving waves in French Polynesia when she was growing up in the mountain town of Yimen, part of Huili city in the Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture of Sichuan province. Born into a farming family, Yang's first sporting interest was judo.

It was her uncle that got her out on the water, recommending her to the Sichuan Qionghai Aquatic Sports School in Xichang, capital of Liangshan, where she initially learned how to sail, before catching the surfing bug at the age of nine.

"Before I learned surfing, I had never seen the sea," Yang said.

"But, surfing is an exciting sport and I like an adventure."

After six years of devotion and effort, she made her Olympic debut in Tahiti.

Yang, the only Chinese surfer competing at the Paris Games, ranked ninth in the third round of the women's surfing event, laying down a historic Olympic marker for Chinese surfers.

"I am very happy to have had the chance to compete against the world's top surfers, and I learned a lot from them, which has further spurred me on," Yang said.

It was announced in 2016 that surfing would be included in the Olympics for the first time at Tokyo 2020, sparking the formation of the Chinese surfing team in 2018.

Yang joined the national program the following year.

However, no Chinese surfer competed at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games in 2021.

She qualified for the Paris Olympics after securing her berth at the World Surfing Games in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, in March.

She topped repechage round 6 with 11.83 points, qualifying to be among the 24-woman field in Tahiti.

"She is the first Chinese surfer to compete in the Olympic Games since the sport made its debut in Tokyo," her coach Luo Yang said.

"Of the 48 male and female surfers competing at the Paris Games, she is also the youngest.

"We're very proud of her and hope she will keep improving and make it into the world's top echelon in the near future."

The surfing competition took place over four days in a nine-day window from July 27 at Teahupo'o in Tahiti.

Famous for its high winds and rough waves, the site was a big test for Yang. She wiped out several times, but she resolutely rose to challenge.

Her performance and pluck won her praise from spectators and media, who lauded her bravery and embodiment of the Olympic spirit.

"Her performance at the Paris Games has exceeded expectations, and the main purpose of this competition was to accumulate experience," Luo explained.

"Yang is young, and there will be many more opportunities in the future."

The first of which will be the Asian Surfing Championships at Thulusdhoo in the Maldives that start on Aug 17.

And Yang, who arrived back in Hainan from the Paris Games on Aug 5, is ready to go and tear up the waves, starting a new chapter in a promising career.

Contact the writers at huangzhiling@chinadaily.com.cn