Results tagged “paralympics”

The Paralympics may now be behind us, but the story of three-time Paralympian swimmer He Junquan (何军权) continues to inspire the nation. A freak accident in He's childhood days left him without his arms but sheer determination and perseverance led him to become a star in the pool, winning multiple medals for China since the 2000 Sydney Paralympics. Even though He had won four gold medals at the Athens games, this was the first time that most Chinese became acquainted with him when they saw him hitting the Water Cube and swimming his way to global cult status with a bronze medal in the 50m butterfly final, defeating many other awe-struck swimmers that had arms. As He has no arms, the only way he can win each race is by crashing his head into the wall of the pool with no way of slowing down to lessen the impact. He has often mentioned how he leaves each competition with either a headache or a neck/back injury.

Yesterday, a newborn baby girl was discovered by a Paralympics spectator in the restrooms of Beijing's Bird's Nest. The mother, who seemed to have given birth in the bathrooms was not to be found. The baby was taken to hospital and declared to be in good health.

"Up to 5 percent of homosexuals in the city were infected, compared with 0.5 percent of women sex workers, said He Xiong, the Beijing Centers of Diseases Control and Prevention deputy director."

We missed Saturday's opening of the Paralympic Games on TV, but a quick scan of the headlines shows international media are just as impressed as they were with the Olympic opening ceremony. Among the highlights of the show, also choreographed by director Zhang Yimou, were a sign language dance performed by 300 hearing impaired girls, and a wheelchair dance by twelve-year-old ballet student Li Yue who had her left leg amputated during the Sichuan earthquake. After the Games were declared open by President Hu Jintao, wheelchair-bound gold medallist Hou Bin "pulled himself up on a rope to the roof of the stadium to light the flame". Mashable offers a variety of ways to help you get your online fix of the Paralympics.

From France24:

With the paralympics getting under way in Beijing in a few days time, China's athletes continue to train hard...The Games not only a chance for the country's sportsmen to shine, but also for China to gain a better understanding of its disabled population.

Photo from 2 dogs

Photo from UrbanNat