Search for 'extreme' Olympic athletes going global

Gearing up for four new events at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, China's top sports body is hoping to draft overseas athletes of Chinese origin to represent their motherland in areas where China lacks athletic prowess.

Without enough talent in surfing, climbing, skateboarding and BMX freestyle riding, four sports added for the Tokyo Games, the General Administration of Sport of China has launched a progressive talent selection program to identify and develop athletes from home and abroad.

The administration has formed a leading group with the four respective sporting bodies and Beijing Sport University to run the program, which opened an online registration system on Monday to receive applications from Chinese talent at home, foreign athletes of Chinese ancestry and Chinese citizens living abroad.