Zhou Siyu, a student in the third grade at Longgang Experimental School in Longgang District and an avid rock climber, has won the title of national second-level athlete, setting her one step closer towards her goal of one day becoming a world champion climber.

Born in 2012, Zhou is the youngest Butora-contracted climber and a student of Xie Weicheng, one of the six rock climbing route setters in China. Butora is a rock climbing shoe brand.

When she was a little kid, Zhou liked running around and playing outdoors.While strolling in a shopping mall with her mom when she was 5, Zhou was immediately attracted to an indoor rock climbing game and had developed a strong interest in the sport ever since.

Seeing that the girl is so into climbing, Zhou’s father, who used to be a military man, took his daughter to professional climbing clubs for training where she acquired a lot of climbing skills. Nevertheless, Zhou found herself more intrigued by outdoor rock climbing, so her grandparents would take her to the world’s best rock climbing spots for her to hone her skills.

Young as she is, Zhou is a veteran sportsman in the climbing field and has participated in numerous competitions at home and abroad.

Zhou has won a dozen of events including the championship at the 2018 National Junior Climbing League U7 Group, all-round championship at the Shenzhen Junior Climbing Tournament in 2018 and 2019, and the all-roundchampionship at the 2019 South China Club Junior Climbing Competition.

In 2020, Sport Climbing has been included on the sports program of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and the sport is gaining greater popularity among the general public.

(Yang Mei)