China's Wang Zijin is hoping to use her recent success in the 2022 Spartan Kids World Championship to inspire people and help deaf children, a cause she has championed since 2019.
Wang won the girl's championship in the 9-11 age bracket in the championship held in the U.S. on Dec. 10, 2022, becoming the first Chinese kid to claim the title in this competition.
Spartan Race is an obstacle race which originated from the military training used by ancient Spartans. The competition tests athletes' running skills and overall physical abilities.
One month before Wang won the championship, she also broke the DEKA FIT world record in the 10-13 age bracket.
Wang once came second from last out of 20 athletes in her first race at a sports meeting in her kindergarten many years ago. Wang's father is a sports enthusiast, and decided to take his daughter to do sports at that time.
When she was 7, she made her debut in the Spartan Race. She found this race challenging but interesting, and it was also good for her fitness. She has travelled to many places for training and competitions, and says sport has made her more confident and fitter.
Inspired by Wang, her 8-year-old brother has also started doing sports, and hopes to become as good as his sister one day.
Hoping to inspire and help more people, Wang and her friends launched a charity race for children with hearing impairments in 2019. In addition, Wang and her family decided to donate her 10,000 yuan prize money for breaking the world record to a school for deaf children.
