简体中文
The world's top traceurs, or practitioners of parkour/PK, have taken the thrilling new sport to Central China’s Tianmen Mountain in Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province.
Parkour, a training discipline originating in France, involves racing through a military-style obstacle course in the fastest and most efficient way – testing skills of speed, balance and strength.
From Sunday to Monday, 24 international competitors -- including four from China -- wowed crowds at a parkour competition held at the Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park.
Eight competitors entered the finals on Monday, all were required to balance carefully while accomplishing a series of skillful movements at speed on a nearly 300-meter-long mountaineering path with a vertical drop of 150 meters. They had to scamper down 999 steep and narrow steps at their fastest speed.
A Ukrainian traceur claimed the championship in a record time of 1’44’’43. The second and third places were claimed respectively by competitors from the Netherlands and China. Dubbed “Parkour Lora”, tough American traceur Sydney Olson, one of three females who edged into the finals, won a special award for female challengers.
Le Parkour has won many loyal hearts among China’s younger generation in recent years. Many are engaged in such cool and challenging sports, planning and promoting disciplines to improve the awareness of new and exciting activities. Hou Rong, a founding member of a parkour club, completed a challenge to get off and then catch up with a subway in Chengdu, Sichuan Province on May 18, following in the footsteps of a runner challenging the Tube in London.
(CGTN)
