A 58-year-old will debut for China at 2024 Paris Olympics

At an age when most people prepare for life after work, one athlete is rewriting the norm. Zeng Zhiying, 58, will debut at the 2024 Paris Olympics as part of the Chinese table tennis team. 

Zhiying's journey to Paris is a tale of perseverance and bravery, shared in a recent interview with The Associated Press. In 1989, she migrated from China to Chile at a time when the Tiananmen Square massacre caused upheaval in her country. Upon moving to Chile, she became a table tennis coach, sacrificing her own athletic endeavors to help others.

However, during the 2020 global pandemic, Zhiying rediscovered her burning passion for table tennis and proceeded to represent Chile at several events. During last year's Pan American Games in Santiago, she shocked the world by claiming the bronze medal as a 57-year-old battling a bunch of 20-year-olds. 

While Zhiying is now a dual citizen of China and Chile, she will represent her birth country in Paris.

"I never imagined [making it to the Olympic Games] because I took it up for entertainment, to do some sport," Zhiying told The Associated Press. "I gained confidence by playing a lot. Since I always won, I liked playing more and more. Qualifying for an Olympics is a big, gigantic dream, and being able to fulfill it at that age is a huge happiness."

Interestingly, Zhiying will go by her Chilean adopted name of "Tania Zeng" at the 2024 Paris Olympics instead of her birth name. A part of that reasoning is because she feels "Chilean in heart and soul" and plans to be buried in her beloved South American home when she passes.

Zhiying is the oldest athlete to represent the Chinese contingent in Paris. She is the second-oldest athlete at the Games overall, behind only 59-year-old German equestrian Steffen Peters, who will be competing in his sixth Olympics. Peters will turn 60 in September.