Olympics gymnastics star comes crashing back to reality after winning silver in Paris
Olympic gymnast Zhou Yaqin was spotted helping out in her family’s business in China a week after winning silver in Paris.
The 18-year-old girl was seen serving food to customers, who barely seemed to notice her, at her mother’s restaurant in her hometown of Hengyang in Hunan province on Thursday.
“Remember that cute Chinese gymnast Zhou Yaqin? After winning Olympic silver, she returned to her parents’ house for a vacation,” an account known as “Shanghai Panda,” posted on X along with images of the gymnast.
‘Of course you can’t call it a holiday. Because she needs help with the work in the restaurant that her parents run.’
People on social media praised Yaqin for her humility despite her recent victory in front of the world.
Viral footage shows silver medalist Zhou Yaqin serving food in her family’s restaurant in her Olympic uniform on Thursday
Yaqin went viral at the Olympics after she imitated her fellow podium finishers by biting her medal
“That’s why discipline plays an important role in the lives of champions like her,” said one Instagram user.
“They are raised to remain humble and down-to-earth.”
“This is so inspiring to see,” someone else wrote, while another added: “She’s just bragging about her mom’s restaurant, much respect.”
Yaqin also shared a photo of a wall of her gymnastics achievements at her family’s restaurant on popular Chinese social media platform Weibo: “I recommend everyone to visit my family’s restaurant.”
Yaqin competed in the women’s balance beam, where she later finished on the podium
She won silver on the women’s balance beam at the Paris Olympics. In the final, she scored 14.100 points, just 0.766 points less than her qualifying score (14.866).
She lost to Italy’s Alicia D’Amato, but went viral during the medal ceremony when she imitated her fellow podium finishers by biting her medal in front of the cameras.
Yaqin also competed in the all-around and individual floor events for Team China at the Olympics, but she won no medals other than her one silver medal.
Earlier this year, Yaqin won a silver medal at the World Gymnastics Championships.