Gold medallist showed determination as polio-ravaged child
Gold medal winner Du Jianping was unlucky to be struck with a disease that paralysed him from an early age, but he found fortune in a persistent mother who raised him to become a talented swimmer.
Born into a poor village family in Jinhua , Zhejiang province , Du caught polio when he was five months old, leaving him paralysed and only able to move his head.
After 26 days of treatment in hospital even his doctors had given up hope, but his mother believed he could recover.
When he was seven he seemed to make a partial recovery and managed to stand up by holding onto a wall. But he was still paralysed on one side.
Du was considered a good student and his physical education teacher found he had a talent for sport.
Encouraged by a favourable admissions policy for disabled students, his mother started to teach him basic swimming in the village pool in the hope that a good PE score could gain him admittance to technical training school.
He was a quick learner and would happily stay in the water all day. In 1999 he took part in the first disabled sports competition in Jinhua and came fifth. He was picked up by the city athletic school, where his first professional coach, Chen Xiongfen , discovered his potential.
Chen devised a tailor-made swimming style, which helped Du win a gold and silver at the Zhejiang provincial disabled competition in 1999.
It was the start of his journey to even greater success.
