ZENG Laura

General
STUDY DEFERRED
She has deferred enrolment at Yale University in New Haven, CT, United States of America, until after the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, but she says reaching that decision was a challenging process. "I need to finish what I started, so of course I had to make the decision to continue [competing after the Games were postponed from 2020 to 2021]. The real question was what I wanted to do about school. They had online classes. In the end I came to the conclusion that if I'm going to go for it, I'm going to go for it 100%. My mind needs to be focused on what I'm doing. I'm a gymnast right now, and my goal is to be the best gymnast that I can [be]. There was doubt, of course, but the path became clear. I'm trying not to let my excitement for Yale overshadow my excitement for Tokyo. I'm trying to focus on one thing at a time." (newsnationnow.com, 21 Jun 2021)

SANCTION
She was banned for six months between October 2018 and April 2019 after testing positive for banned substance acetazolamide. United States Anti-Doping Agency [USADA] issued a six-month ban after she provided evidence that she had ingested the substance as part of altitude sickness medication prescribed to her by her parents. (usada.org, 19 Dec 2018; france24.com, 19 Dec 2018; olympics.nbcsports.com, 19 Dec 2018)

DANCE BACKGROUND
She has been involved in ballet since childhood. In 2013 and 2014 she earned scholarships to do intensive sessions with professional ballet companies including Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle, WA, United States of America. She credits part of her style to her Chinese folk dancing background, and is also influenced by her involvement in ballet. "Chinese dancing is definitely a huge part of my career and a strong basis for my style and foundation. It's something that I feel that's in me. Ballet is a great foundation for rhythmic and helps me improve my technique." (nbcolympics.com, 23 Mar 2016; dailyherald.com, 09 Nov 2015; teamusa.org, 24 Jun 2015; dailyherald.com, 11 Sep 2015; chicagotribune.com, 05 Dec 2015)

FAMILY
She was born in the United States of America to Chinese parents who came to the country in the 1990s. She met her extended Chinese family while competing at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, People's Republic of China. "I am the first of my family to be born in America. My parents came here about 20 years ago. When I was six, I went back to China and met my relatives, but it had been a long time so it was very cool when they came and watched me [in Nanjing]." (nbcolympics.com, 23 Mar 2016; dailyherald.com, 09 Nov 2015; dailyherald.com, 11 Sep 2015)

Her 11th-place finish in the individual all-around event at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro is the joint-highest individual finish by a US rhythmic gymnast at the Games. (olympics.nbcsports.com, 19 Dec 2018; SportsDeskOnline, 29 Aug 2018)

She became the first US rhythmic gymnast to win a medal at a World Cup event after she claimed bronze medals in the hoop and ribbon at the 2016 event in Minsk, Belarus. (teamusa.org, 22 May 2016; SportsDeskOnline, 29 Aug 2018)