Having fun: The Philippines' Mazel Paris Alegado in action during the women's park final - REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
HANGZHOU: She probably ought to have been in primary school, but instead Mazel Paris Alegado - aged nine - competed in skateboarding at the Asian Games on Monday. Alegado, thought to be the youngest athlete at the Games in Hangzhou and representing the Philippines, qualified for the"women's" park final and came seventh out of eight.Alegado, who turned nine in March and reportedly comes from California, said she got into skateboarding when she saw her brother doing it while they were at a cousin's house.
Asked if her brother still skates, she replied:"No because he was like, 'Oh dang, she's better than me now', so he stopped." In the final, Alegado avoided the wooden spoon, which instead went to Taiwanese 11-year-old Lin Yi-fan. - AFP