6-year-old cries tears of joy after landing kickflip
Chika Konoe, a 6-year-old in Irvine, California, wept tears of joy after landing a kickflip trick on her skateboard.
A video of the magical moment, which was posted on social media in November and has garnered millions of views, shows Chika launching herself upwards while flipping the board with her feet and landing cleanly. After a brief celebration, Chika begins to cry while burying her head in the neck of her father, Yuya Konoe, who lifted her off the ground.
Chika said that after landing the flip, she was "so happy and excited" about achieving her goal. "And then I just cried," she said in an interview with "Good Morning America."
"I started crying as well," said Yuya Konoe, adding that he is "proud."
Chika said she practices skateboarding with her older brother Sojiro.
Yuya Konoe said neither he nor his wife skate, so it has been Sojiro who has taught her all of her tricks.
"I just love the process that she’s going through," said Sojiro, who complimented his sister’s perseverance to learn tough tricks he knows. He added, "I think that girls and boys are just capable of equal things."
Chika hopes to keep skateboarding in her future, naming skateboarder, dancer, artist, scientist and ninja as possible future professions.
