From bouldering to BMX, emerging sports gain a grip

Finding new talent

Skateboarding and BMX freestyle are showing how talent scouting across various sports can help China develop athletes in these emerging disciplines.

Teenager Zhu Yuanling began trampoline training at an amateur sports school in Guangning county, Zhaoqing, Guangdong, at the age of 7.

In 2021, she was selected for the national skateboarding training squad during a visit by talent scouts to the area. Her aerial awareness, flexibility and coordination — developed through trampoline — made her a promising candidate, despite having never tried skateboarding.

"Skateboarding has made me more outgoing," Zhu said.

"I used to be shy and afraid to talk to people, but after I started, lots of older boys and girls would play with me."

After skateboarding was added to the Tokyo Olympics' program, China began building a national team in 2017.

But a lack of suitable facilities posed early challenges. Coach Yu Wenhao recalled that the team had to move between cities to train because it lacked a permanent venue.

When she was just 10, Zhu watched 16-year-old Zeng Wenhui reach the women's skateboarding final at the Tokyo Olympics. She later qualified for the Paris Olympics but failed to advance beyond the preliminary round.

"We kept adjusting our training goals and encouraging her to believe in herself," Coach Yu said. "One day, she would stand on the highest podium."

That moment came at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, where Zhu won the women's street skateboarding gold medal and compatriot Cui Chenxi took bronze. The two had promised before the competition that they would stand on the podium together.

Sun Sibei, the women's BMX freestyle park gold medalist at the Games, also switched sports, moving from wushu martial arts to the two-wheel sport. After failing to qualify for the Paris Olympics, she continued training and went on to win gold in Nagoya.

While Chinese athletes are making progress internationally, access to facilities remains uneven. According to an industry report from the China Sporting Goods Federation, China had more than 1,200 dedicated roller-skating and skateboarding venues by the end of 2024, including more than 200 standard skateboarding facilities.

For young people in smaller cities and county-level towns, access to nearby, suitable venues can determine whether an initial interest develops into regular practice.