China has its first Olympic surfer as Yang Siqi, 14, becomes youngest Paris qualifier
- Teenager ‘super-excited’ after being told she had clinched an Olympic spot with her performance at the World Surfing Games
- ‘We were about to leave,’ she says. ‘When the staff asked me to stay, I was not aware that I would earn the Olympic qualification’
China’s Yang Siqi has spoken of her surprise after earning the right to become her country’s first Olympic surfer – not to mention being, at just 14 years old, the youngest person to qualify in her sport for the Paris Games.
The teen claimed her spot by progressing through the repechage rounds on Friday at the World Surfing Games (WSG) in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, beating British surf-skate phenomenon Sky Brown and Costa Rica’s 2021 Olympian Brisa Hennessy.
Yang was formally awarded her place when International Surfing officials presented her with a ceremonial ticket to Tahiti. Paris’ surfing events will be taking place on the island, which is part of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the South Pacific.
“Thank you my family, thank you everyone,” Yang said in response.
The schoolgirl, who started surfing in 2018, will be among 24 women who will compete in the thumping tubes of Teahupo’o over four days during a nine-day window beginning on July 27.
