An 89-year-old roller skating idol in Hangzhou

A group of elderly people wearing roller skates slide in a beautiful arc on the ground in Hangzhou West Lake Third Park every Thursday morning. Among them, the most attractive one is 89-year-old Xu Guoming labeled as “Roller Skating Youth” with white hair.

Xu Guoming has been keen on roller skating since he was a child. After his retirement, he resumes this sport and has insisted on it for more than 40 years. The nearly-90-year-old man’s face is always with a brilliant smile, regardless of the difficulty movements like the “mini-train” sliding movement which features twist and turn forwards and backwards, double skating of “Flying Side by Side” together with his teammates, or sliding while twisting the neck.

In addition to health and happiness, Xu Guoming is the oldest member in the West Lake Elderly Roller Skating Team, and one of founders. His love for roller skating has infected the team members, and many of them regard him as an idol. Luo Chenfa, the current captain, said: “89-year-old Xu Guoming is still willing to participate in roller skating, and his spirit has encouraged more people to do so.”

Besides Thursdays, the West Lake Elderly Roller Skating Team is active in the region of the West Lake Third Park every day, attends the national fitness and greets Hangzhou Asian Games in their own way to convey the charm of roller skating to more people. From this group of “wind-chasing old boys”, we can see that, roller skating is not just a sport, and it is also the challenging spirit that goes beyond oneself and sets no limits in life.