Olympic champion returned to work as a waitress in a family restaurant (4 photos + 1 video)
Sports often take athletes to the heights of glory, but the true test of character comes when they return to everyday life. 18-year-old Olympic gymnast Zhou Yaqin is a shining example of how a champion can remain humble and connected to her roots, even after winning a prestigious silver medal. 
Just a week after her triumph at the Paris Olympics, Yaqin was spotted helping out at a family restaurant in her hometown of Hengyang, China.
The footage posted on social media shows the athlete serving food to customers who barely seem to notice her.
"Remember that cute Chinese gymnast Zhou Yaqin? After winning Olympic silver, she went back to her parents' house for the holidays," wrote an account on X called "Shanghai Panda" alongside the photos. "Of course, it's not a holiday. She has to help work at the restaurant her parents run."
People on social media praised Yaqin for her humility despite her recent triumph in front of the world: “This is why discipline plays an important role in the lives of champions like her,” “Their upbringing is such that they remain humble and down to earth,” “This is inspiring,” “Much respect.”
Yaqin also shared a photo of a wall of all her gymnastics achievements at her family’s eatery on popular Chinese social media site Weibo and wrote, “I recommend everyone to come to my family’s restaurant.”
At the Paris Olympics, she won silver in the women's balance beam event, scoring 14.100 in the final, just 0.766 points short of her qualifying score of 14.866. She lost to Italy's Alicia D'Amato.
Yaqin also competed for China in the all-around and women's individual freestyle events at the Olympics, but did not win any medals other than a single silver. Earlier this year, Yaqin won a silver medal at the World Gymnastics Championships.
