Hong Kong climber, 9, wins national competition in Beijing, mum ‘overwhelmed’ with joy
Veronica Chik claims top honours at China National Youth Climbing Championships just weeks after record-breaking outdoor climb on mainland
The nine-year-old Hongkonger who recently conquered one of China’s toughest climbs has stormed to victory on her national competition debut in Beijing.
Veronica Chik, who became the youngest Hong Kong climber to navigate the notorious “China Climb” in Yangshuo last month, claimed top honours in the boulder-and-lead combined competition for her age category at the China National Youth Climbing Championships.
The youngster took three months away from the sport this year to stave off a fear of falling from heights. She returned in spectacular fashion, hurtling up the 31-metre China Climb, which has a 5.14a grading, denoting it as among the most daunting in the sport, in five minutes and 50 seconds.
A pupil at ESF Renaissance College in Ma On Shan, Chik spelled out her ambition to compete in an Olympic Games when she was only seven years old.
With a fair wind, she could find herself in Brisbane in 2032, and Chik’s accelerated progress continued over the weekend.
Making her national bow in the eighth edition of China’s premier youth climbing competition, she soared to success in the boulder-and-lead discipline, which was introduced in its current form at the Paris Olympics this summer.
Her mother, Vivian Wan, said: “We are overwhelmed with emotion, we couldn’t help but shed tears of joy when her name echoed as the champion. It was a culmination of hard work, perseverance, and unwavering passion.”
