A surfer from landlocked Sichuan. A 39-year-old deliveryman-turned-marathoner. An 11-year-old skateboarding prodigy. These are just some of the Chinese athletes we’ll be rooting for at the upcoming Summer Olympics.

With the 2024 Paris Olympic Games beginning this week, thousands of athletes from around the world are making final preparations to show the best of themselves and their countries. Of the more than 10,000 athletes scheduled to compete, 405 of them (269 women and 136 men) will be representing China.

The Paris Olympics marks a turning point in the history of the Games, as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) seeks to urbanize the competition for a younger audience. One of Paris 2024’s main objectives is to “inspire young people to take up sport” by introducing skateboarding, breakdancing, and climbing. The IOC has also stated its intent to make the Games more inclusive by giving free public access to the opening ceremony and by inaugurating new events such as the Mass Participation Marathon.

China’s athletes have risen to the occasion, with veterans and rookies alike contending for the podium. Here are a handful we think you should watch.

Zheng Haohao (skateboarding)

At just 11 years old, skateboarding prodigy Zheng Haohao is China’s youngest Olympian. If she medals, she’ll become the world’s youngest Olympic medalist. A native of Guangdong province, Zheng grew up painting, dancing, and skateboarding. Despite her mother’s concerns—she has sustained multiple injuries—she loves the excitement of the sport. “It’s real fun when the skateboard flies up,” she told China Daily.

Skateboarding was only introduced as an Olympic sport in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. The Tokyo podium saw some of the youngest medalists in Olympic history, with 13-year-old Nishiya Momiji of Japan claiming gold.

Liu Qingyi (breakdancing)

Liu Qingyi, or B-Girl 671, is one of three Chinese athletes to qualify for the first-ever edition of breakdancing at the Olympics. The 18-year-old is a breaking phenom, having won gold at the Porto World Battle in Portugal and silver at the 2022 World Breaking Championships in South Korea. Liu began training at age 10, after she witnessed a breakdance battle on the streets of her hometown in Henan province. She battled her way into the Huixian city team (her hometown), and secured a spot on Team China after winning at the 2021 National Games.

Liu is excited to show the world what Chinese breakers can do, but she remains aware of the sport’s history and culture. Breakdancing originated as a Black American art form in the late 1960s in Harlem, New York. In an interview with Red Bull, Liu paid tribute to breakdancing’s roots. “Through learning this knowledge,” she said, “I was able to find my own style.”

Qiu Qiyuan (artistic gymnastics)

Though Qiu Qiyuan only just became eligible for senior international competition last March, she is already one of the most promising Chinese prospects in artistic gymnastics. The 17-year-old from Fujian province won gold on the uneven bars and fourth place in the all-around at the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, and is China’s reigning national all-around champion. Together with fellow first-time Olympian Zhou Yaqin and veterans such as Ou Yushan, she hopes to herald a comeback for China’s women’s artistic gymnastics team, which only won two medals (compared to the six won by the men’s team) at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

Luan Yushuai (Mass Participation Marathon)

Luan Yushuai, a 39-year-old delivery man, has taken the internet by storm. A native of Jilin province, Luan has been selected for the Mass Participation Marathon, the first-ever Olympic even to be open to public participation. Contestants will follow elite runners in the Olympic marathon along the same path. Of the 800,000 hopefuls who applied for a slot, only 40,000 were accepted, with 120 hailing from China.

For nine years, Luan worked as a courier for e-commerce giant JD. He realized his passion for running after one of his customers, a sports club owner, offered to coach him for free. Luan has been preparing for the game by running 400 kilometers every month, and tying sandbags to his legs while working and training. In 2021, Luan won first place in a Beijing half-marathon among nonprofessional runners, and began training in earnest to qualify for the Paris Olympics. Social media users have named him “China’s fastest delivery man.”

Han Jiayu and Jiang Ranxin (shooting)

Han Jiayu, 22, and Jiang Ranxin, 24, will be leading China’s women’s shooting team in Paris. Han won the gold medal in the 10-meter air rifle event at the 2023 World Shooting Championships, as well as two gold medals and one silver medal at the 2022 Asian Games. Jiang, meanwhile, is the reigning world champion and world record holder in the 10-meter air pistol event, having taken gold at the 2023 World Shooting Championships.

China has historically dominated international shooting competitions, with markswomen Zhang Mengxue and Yang Qian winning gold medals at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2021 Olympics respectively. This time around, China has secured full quotas for both the pistol and rifle events. In an interview with Global Times, Luciano Rossi, president of the International Shooting Sport Federation, declared his hope that China’s shooters will help “attract young audiences” to the sport.

Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan (doubles badminton)

Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan, known together as Fan-Chen, are one of the most successful partnerships in women’s doubles badminton history. Having won gold at the 2017, 2021, 2022, and 2023 World Championships, the duo is currently ranked first globally. Though they lost to Indonesia’s Greysia Polli and Apriyani Rahayu in the final round of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, they have high hopes for Paris. “The two of us are actually like one person,” Chen told the Global Times. Jia spoke highly of her partner in the same breath: “She is like a spring. The higher the pressure, the higher she will bounce back.”

Yang Siqi (surfing)

After finishing 15th at the World Surfing Games in Puerto Rico, 15-year-old Yang Siqi has become the first Chinese surfer to ever qualify for the Olympics. She will be competing alongside 23 other women in the Teahupo’o reef pass of Tahiti, where the Polynesian surf is known to be one of the most challenging waves in the world.

A native of landlocked Sichuan province, Yang first saw the sea at nine years old. She has since drawn considerable attention to the Chinese national surfing team, which was only founded in 2018, two years after surfing was declared an Olympic sport. Yang is known for her daring and raw power in the water. In an interview with CGTN, national team coach Luo Yang declared that “judges tend to favor aggressive athletes who dare to take on challenges.” He has high hopes for Yang, whom he says is “exceptionally well-suited for the sport.”

China’s teams are already in Paris, acclimating and finalizing their strategies. The Games begin on July 26.