Former Chinese champion disabled cyclist finds new track in life with live-streaming seafood sales
- Li, who had her left leg amputated as a child, has a disabled husband and a son with a serious eye disease with high treatment costs
- At one point the family was massively in debt and things were so bad they were forced to survive on just 70 yuan (US$11.08) a week
A former champion disabled cyclist who won several world championships for China has found her new track in life by live-streaming to sell seafood.
Li Yuanyuan started live-streaming in mid-2019 when her husband lost his job and the family’s debts reached more than 300,000 yuan (US$47,478). At one time the couple were forced to borrow money to pay the medical expenses for their son who suffers from a serious eye disease.
At their lowest point, they relied on just 70 yuan (US$11.08) to survive a whole week, Li told news site shobserver.com.
Now Li and her husband, who is also disabled, have managed to repay their debts and Li has become an online celebrity and role model for others, the report said.
Li was born in 1986 in a rural family in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, eastern China. She had her left leg amputated at the age of 13 because of a road accident.
After three years of rehabilitation, Li started wearing a prosthetic leg and later became a bike athlete.
At a world disabled cyclist championship event in the Czech Republic in 2003, Li not only won a gold medal but also broke the world record by riding 500 metres in 43 seconds.