How a “basketball girl” who lost both legs in a traffic accident became an inspiring swimming champion
A girl who once used a basketball to get around after losing both her legs in an accident is now an inspiration to millions of people as a Paralympic swimming champion.
Qian Hongyan gained worldwide attention in 2005 when pictures were published showing her running around using a basketball to balance.
The young girl from Yunnan in southwest China had to have both legs amputated after an accident at the age of four that nearly cost her her life.
Because she used the ball as a replacement for her limbs, she was soon nicknamed “Basketball Girl,” but after becoming national champion at the Chinese Paralympic Swimming Competitions in 2009, she turned her life around completely.
Qian won a gold medal in the 100-meter breaststroke final at the Yunnan Provincial Paralympics last year.
After her accident, Qian’s grandfather cut up an old basketball to replace her legs. She used this and wooden pads with handles to get around.
Her impoverished family had no money for treatment, but as pictures of her went around the world, donations soon poured in and Qian traveled to Beijing at the age of ten to have prosthetic legs fitted.
But since her family was still poor, they could not afford to send Qian to school, and she faced a bleak future.
However, the 11-year-old did not want to accept her difficult circumstances and joined the local swim team “South of the Cloud”, which was founded specifically for people with disabilities.
Through sheer determination, Qian became a national swimming champion within a few years, winning gold and silver medals at the 2009 Chinese National Paralympics Swimming Competitions.
In 2010, two more silver medals were added to her collection, and in 2011 she won a bronze medal at the Paralympics Qualification Games.
After failing to qualify for the team, she took a break from the sport but returned in style, winning more medals, including gold at the Yunnan Provincial Paralympics last year.
Qian has proven that anything is possible and is an inspiration to the world – for people with and without disabilities.
