Paraathletes Prep for Powder Prizes

6 | Tuesday, March 30, 2021 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY CHINA ‘White gold’ the goal for China By CUI JIA Despite a late start and poor training conditions at first, Chi- na’s support of disabled winter sports athletes has been greatly boosted since the successful bid to host the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing, Zhang Haidi, president of the China Disabled Persons’ Federation, said. Before the successful 2015 bid, just 50 para-athletes had regis- tered with the federation, but the number is now over 1,000, added Zhang, who is also executive president of the committee that is organizing Beijing 2022 . China sent a team to the Winter Paralympics for the first time in 2002, when four Paralympians competed in the cross-country and Alpine skiing disciplines. Since 2016, Chinese athletes have participated in 59 international events featuring paralympic winter sports, claiming 38 gold Para-athlete Liu Gengliang trains in Chongli district, Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, on March 20. PHOTOS BY WEI XIAOHAO / CHINA DAILY medals. At the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, China’s wheelchair curling team won the gold medal, while the para-snowboarders claimed two world titles at the World Para Para-athletes prep for powder prizes Snowboard Championships in 2019 in Finland. In addition to supporting pro- fessional para-athletes, the federa- Nation’s top disabled snowboarders, skiers are hitting the hills ahead of Beijing 2022. Cui Jia reports. tion has hosted winter sports festivals for people with disabilities annually since 2016 to encour- u Zhongwei, a mem- pic Games in 2014. During the rides, China has launched several scientif- age more participants. ber of China’s para- Wu can reach 90 kilometers per ic research programs to refine ski- In Hebei alone, people with dis- lympic snowboarding hour and can complete the course in ing equipment for para-athletes and abilities have taken part in winter team, said the about 1 minute 20 seconds. help them train better and more sports more than 300,000 times momentW he takes off during a jump “He is the real ‘terminator’,” said safely, said Zhu, who is with the since the festivals started. and hangs in the air is when he gets Stankovic, adding that it is the first team in Chongli. The Games will be held from the greatest satisfaction from his time he has coached para-athletes. For the team, every training ses- March 4 to 13 next year, with top rides down the mountain. He praised their determination. sion is valuable because the skiing athletes competing in 78 events It’s also the moment that makes “Para-athletes might fall more than season will end soon. across six disciplines: para-Alpine him completely forget his disability able-bodied snowboarders when skiing; para-snowboarding; para- and reminds him that he can even mastering a technique. Also, it takes Tailor-made skis ice hockey; wheelchair curling; do things that able-bodied people longer to adjust the snowboards and Shan Yilin was born with a para-biathlon; and para-cross- cannot achieve. bindings so they can find the most deformed lower right leg, which country skiing. Along with 20 teammates, the comfortable positions, as their disa- means she is unable to walk prop- With preparations going full 26-year-old has been working hard bilities affect the way they control erly. steam ahead, China aims for its preparing for the Beijing 2022 Win- their bodies,” he said. As a winter biathlete she needs to para-athletes to qualify for all ter Paralympics in Chongli district, “But they are never afraid of push- sit on tailor-made skis to complete events, according to the federa- Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, ing their limits, so I have to keep the cross-country course and tackle tion’s sports department. which will co-host the games with making the course more difficult. the shooting discipline. The nation’s para-athletes are the capital. More important, they can inspire “I am training on skis developed vigorously preparing for the “Snowboarding has given me a Team members warm up before training in Chongli. more people with disabilities to by a research team at Tsinghua Uni- Games and they are determined purpose in life again and made me learn what they are capable of. I versity. They have recently come to showcase the spirit of always feel unstoppable,” said Wu, who uses believe that’s more important than over to see if there is still room for striving to be the best, Zhang said. a prosthesis because his lower left winning gold medals at the Winter improvement, especially to make The World Wheelchair Curling leg was amputated following a car Paralympics.” the skis strong enough to withstand Championship is scheduled to be accident in 2014. Zhu Dewen, leader of the coach- the pressure if I fall,” said the held in Beijing in October, subject After the accident, Wu said he felt ing team for China’s paralympic ski- 20-year-old who took up skiing in to agreement between the Inter- hopeless about life and became ing squad, said he has witnessed 2016. national Paralympic Committee, depressed. He locked himself at how para-athletes gradually Shan said her legs often become the World Curling Federation and home for two years, doing nothing become more confident and opti- numb when she sits on the skies for the Beijing 2022 organizers. but playing video games all day long. mistic through sports. too long but that’s trivial compared A final decision will be made in “A friend couldn’t stand seeing me “We have a cross-country skier with the joy she derives from the July, after evaluation of the COV- like that, so he suggested that I join who had both arms amputated, who sport. “I am often inspired by my ID-19 situation and related restric- the local para-cycling team in Hebei didn’t like to communicate with teammates who have more-severe tions on international travel. in 2016, even though I had never people when he first joined the team disabilities than me. What’s more, Test runs for snow sports were been keen on sports before,” he said. in 2006. By competing around the skiing is fun. I just love the feeling of completed in February, while “That decision changed my life world and gaining other people’s sliding on the snow,” she said. those for para-ice hockey and because by overcoming the difficul- respect, he has opened up and Wu’s limp was only noticeable wheelchair curling will be held ties in sports, I regained my confi- become a different person,” said when he took off the snowboard at next month. The trials are dence. It was not an easy thing to Zhu, who has been coaching para- the end of the training session on restricted to domestic athletes as do.” athletes since 2002. March 20. a result of considerations related He added that Beijing’s 2015 win- However, he said he wasn’t both- to COVID-19. Natural talent ning bid to host the Games — which ered about it as snowboarding suc- On March 20, the Games’ orga- To find a new challenge, Wu start- Shan Yilin uses skis designed at Tsinghua University in Beijing. will be held from March 4 to 13 next cess means he no longer feels like a nizers released the latest version ed learning to snowboard in 2018. year — has created great opportuni- disabled person. of the competition schedule, Jurica Stankovic, head coach of ties for para-athletes to thrive in “If I can fly when I snowboard, I with the first gold up for grabs in the snowboarding team, watched talented. If he covered up his metal base for snowboard cross, including winter sports as they can receive can do anything with my artificial para-Alpine downhill skiing. Wu reach the finish line in style dur- artificial limb, no one would be able five turns and eight different jumps more support than ever before. limb. My disability no longer gets in The update was released fol- ing a training session at Chongli’s to tell that the cool snowboarder in with a vertical drop of 200 meters, China has only managed to take the way of how I want to live my life,” lowing approval by the IPC, but Genting Snow Park. front of them has such a severe disa- according to the 43-year-old veteran one gold medal in previous Winter he said. is still subject to change as pre- “Wu is one of the best snowboard bility,” he said. Serbian snowboarder. Paralympic Games. paratory work progresses. cross athletes in the team because There are around 40 different ter- Para-snowboarding was the last In addition to investing to Contact the writer at he’s a humble learner and naturally rain features at the park’s training sport added to the Winter Paralym- improve access to course facilities, [email protected] Xinhua contributed to this story. Going downhill fast, and quickly gaining respect By CUI JIA The 19-year-old started snow- 400 hours on the training course “I know I will have to work extra boarding in 2016 simply because “it and another 400 in the gym since hard to snowboard like him one Ji Lijia said he hopes he can looked cool”. “I am passionate about October, when the team started day, but nothing is impossible. Like become a coach for able-bodied snowboarding, otherwise I would training in Chongli district, Zhang- Vaultier, I love the sense of freedom snowboarders one day, because he not be here now,” said Ji, who joined jiakou, Hebei, co-host of the Beijing that snowboarding gives me.

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