Meet China’s first Paralympic champion

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Three decades ago Ping Yali won China’s first Paralympic gold medal. Her life was changed forever, and she has witnessed the development of China’s disabled sports program.

Ahead of Friday, China’s first Disability Prevention Day, she told us her story.

Ping looks like any other middle-aged woman. But once upon a time, she was responsible for bringing glory to her country.

On June 23, 1984, Ping Yali won the long jump event at the seventh Paralympic Games in New York.

Ping told us, "I cried because I recalled my mother who was so worried about me and how I would survive in this world without her. She passed away when I was only eight. Then I laughed, because I realized my success will help us gain more funds for training.”

Chinese Paralympic champion Ping Yali /CFP Photo

Ping was born visually impaired. In the 1980s, training for any athlete was rudimentary compared to modern standards. It was worse for the disabled. But Ping worked on her body and used her fearless spirit to reach peak form.

"The sand used for practicing the long jump was very hard, so I tried to find some sawdust. I carried it back myself using a tricycle, riding along a river. It was horrifying, but I was happy I did it,” she said.

Life remained difficult for Ping. Her son was also born handicapped. Not only that, her husband left her. She would eventually retire with no other source of income. Ping has learned life can be more challenging than sport.

“I realized that I must rely on myself. I must forget my past. I must treat myself as a common disabled person and find a way to survive,” she said.

Ping learned massage, a profession common among Chinese people with visual disabilities. Now she has three massage parlors in Beijing. Survival isn’t her main priority anymore, and she said sport remains her true love.

One dream she had in 1984 came true – a new sports and professional skills training center for the disabled opened in 2008 in Beijing.

“My former teammates and I spent a night inside the center the first day after it was finished. It was a dream come true for us.”

China is now committed to providing opportunities to help the country’s 80 million disabled people succeed.