Zhu Daqing (L) of Team China poses with her silver medal together with her guide Yan Hanhan after the para alpine skiing women's downhill vision impaired competitions at the 2022 Winter Paralympics at Yanqing Para Medals Plaza in Yanqing, Beijing, March 5, 2022. /CFP
Chinese para alpine skier Zhu Daqing owes much of her stunning performance at the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games to her most trusted ski guide, Yan Hanhan.
Guided by Yan, the visually impaired skier won the first medal, a silver, for Team China on Saturday in the para alpine skiing women's downhill vision impaired event, and grabbed a bronze in the women's Super-G vision impaired event on Sunday.
As a former sprinter, Zhu's biggest dream was to compete for China at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics. However, her vision worsened ahead of the Games, forcing her to miss the big event on her home soil. Continuing her sporting dream, Zhu in 2019 participated in the trials for the Chinese national para alpine skiing team, where she met Yan, a former para swimmer with an upper limb disability.
With a shared Paralympic dream, they worked hard together, building great trust and rapport over the years. And their efforts paid off when Zhu reached the podium at the Beijing Winter Paralympics.
"He has put a lot of effort into this, and the medal has his credit," Zhu thanked Yan in a post-event interview on Saturday, noting that Yan is not only her "eyes" but also someone to trust.