CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- When asked about Liu Jiaxin, a student of Grade 2022 from the College of Chinese Language and Culture of Sichuan International Studies University, teachers and students would tell you, "A roller skating champion! She won the gold medal at the World Freestyle Roller Skating Championships last year". But few people know that Liu Jiaxin started learning roller skating at the age of 4, joined the national team at the age of 11, and became the first world roller skating champion in Chongqing at the age of 12. At the age of 20 this year, she has been dealing with roller skating for 16 years.

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Four fifths of her life is spent dealing with roller skating

When she was 4, Liu Jiaxin accompanied by her family happened to see some children wearing roller skates freely shuttling around on the Guanyinqiao Square like fish swimming in the water. Liu Jiaxin was instantly deeply attracted, so much so that her parents' call could not pull her away from that charming scene.

Seeing her so obsessed with roller skating, her parents decided to support her interest and immediately enrolled her in a professional roller skating club for learning. Since then, her life began to change. At the beginning, her parents only hope she would treat roller skating as a hobby, but they never thought that she would stand on the world podium.

"Whenever I finished my homework after school, I went to training; and on weekends, I spent almost all day on the roller skating rink," Liu Jiaxin recalled, that her childhood was filled with roller skating.

In 2010, at the age of 6, she participated in a competition held in Chengdu Happy Valley. There, she saw some older children gently jumping and elegantly dancing in figure skating, which gave her a new understanding of roller skating: "It turns out that roller skating is not just about speed and passion, it can also be so beautiful!" Her father also noticed his daughter's change. Seeing the light in her eyes, he decided to invite a professional coach to guide Liu Jiaxin to learn freestyle movements.

From then on, Liu Jiaxin began professional training in freestyle roller skating.

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Travelling between Chengdu and Chongqing for training Winning the championship after joining the national team

Liu Jiaxin recalled that in the early training, she often got bruised on her arms and legs. “When I was a child, I thought about giving up because it was too tiring and too hard, but with the encouragement of her parents, I still persevered. Everyone needs to take efforts to get rewarded in what they love.” Gradually, Liu Jiaxin no longer felt hard or afraid of falling down. On the contrary, she often forgot time and the troubles due to training.

As time passed by, Liu Jiaxin became more skilled at roller skating. In 2014, in order to further improve her skills, her father took her to Chengdu and formally acknowledged the national team roller skating coach at that time as her master.

Being able to receive more professional and systematic roller skating training is undoubtedly an excellent opportunity for Liu Jiaxin to improve her skills. However, for Liu Jiaxin who was only 10 years old at the time, and her parents, the journey between Chengdu and Chongqing was full of challenges and hardships.

At that time, it took over three hours to travel from Chongqing to Chengdu. Every Saturday morning, Liu Jiaxin and her father embarked on the journey to Chengdu before dawn. After they reached, they would start intense but fulfilling training at once.

The continuous training ended on Sunday afternoon. Such intense training left little time for playing. Under the company of her father, Liu Jiaxin kept such training for two years. Fortunately, all the hard work and effort ultimately paid off. In the next two years, the difficulty of her movements rapidly increased. In 2015, at the age of only 11, Liu Jiaxin won a third place at the national championship and officially joined the national team.

Afterwards, Liu Jiaxin overcame all the difficulties in the way and participated in world-class roller skating competitions multiple times on behalf of China. In the 19th Asian Roller Skating Championships in 2023, Liu Jiaxin won two gold medals for the Chinese delegation in the adult women's group events of freestyle slalom and figure confrontation.

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A world champion who is not a sports student

Although frequent training and competition have taken up a lot of time, Liu Jiaxin has never neglected her studies as a result. As an excellent roller skater, she understands the importance of her studies and understands that while pursuing her sports dreams, she also needs to lay a solid academic foundation for her future.

In the 2022 college entrance examination, Liu Jiaxin was admitted to the College of Chinese Language and Culture of Sichuan International Studies University with excellent academic performance.

Nowadays, Liu Jiaxin still keeps roller skating training, practicing regularly every week and communicating skills and movements with her coach. As the next World Championships approach, Liu Jiaxin's goals become specific and her training plan becomes more rigorous. She not only faces competition from top athletes from around the world, but also needs to overcome the physical and psychological challenges brought about by aging.

In the field of sports, the career of athletes is often short and full of challenges. "At the age of 20, it is a crucial period for many athletes' career," Liu Jiaxin smiled and said, "I am no longer young!" Be that as it may, her dream and determination remain unchanged: "I will try my best to stand on the stage of the World Championships and fight for the championship!" (Photos provided by the interviewee)

(Translated by Hu Chuanmin, Fathom Language Limited)