If you think that parents of young, talented gymnasts or baseball players can be too hard on their kids; just wait until you get a load of Zhang Jianmin. Jianmin is living the tough life in China and so, instead of busting hump to provide for his family, he makes his daughter, Zhang Huimin, run her ass off in hopes that she can become a celebrity runner in the 2016 Olympics. Oh, did we mention that the girl is only 8 years old?
Her dad started making her run at 4 and by the age of 6 she was running eight miles; at 7 she completed a marathon in 3 hours, 28 minutes and 45 seconds. The 42 pounds of little girl has to get up around 2:30 a.m. every weekend to run a marathon (26 miles) before school and she runs countless more miles before school every day during the week.
My plan is that we will have a hard five years,” he said, “and then, when she reaches 12 or 13 years old, she could take part in more national competitions. Hopefully, a professional team will take her.
Apparently, Jianmin used to be a bit of an athlete himself but his dreams never materialized, so we’re guessing that now he’s trying to recapture his glory days through his daughter while looking for a free meal ticket in the process. And we thought that Richard Williams was a crappy father.
Links:
[The Daily O’Collegian]: Going for gold
[Steroid Nation]: Eight year old girl runs a marathon schedule
3 replies on “China’s nomination for "Father of the Year"”
If she wins gold, Dad gets a house made of brick — I predict that this little girl will go all Todd Marinovich on overdrive sometime during the Opening Ceremony. Just before her race, they’ll find her half naked amidst a sea of syringes, crack pipes, and bottles of Wild Irish Rose.
That said, I’m confused – I thought China was breeding a race of super athletes for each event. This girl won’t stand a chance against those types!
has… — China given up on their dodgeball domination dreams?
run 26 miles on the weekend? — You couldn’t wake me up at 2:30 to sit around and watch tv.