Tokyo 2020 Paralympics: How one-armed Wang Jiachao became a gold medallist – ‘I could swim, but just enough not to drown’
- Chinese athlete’s talent spotted at just 10 years old and he has not looked back, winning swimming medals before changing to triathlon
Wang Jiachao was born in a remote village in tropical southern Yunnan. When he was five, he lost his left arm at the shoulder in an accidental electrocution. Now 27, he has won one gold, four silvers and one bronze medal in swimming in three Paralympic Games.
Having retired from swimming, he got a bachelor’s and a master’s degree, and reinvented himself as a professional triathlete. Now Wang is preparing to fulfil his dream of another Paralympic gold at Tokyo 2020.
“I like helping people,” said Wang. “When I started competing abroad I could not speak any English. Many people, complete strangers, helped me out just like we have done now.”
During the interview, Wang helped an American tennis player and her coach get to a tournament from Kunming airport. Wang helped them to buy bus tickets, called their hotel and notified the bus driver where the pair would get off.
“I was chosen,” he said of how he became a professional athlete. “One day county officials came to our village to issue disability certificates. They saw me and said I should go to Kunming to become an athlete.”