On the evening of March 4, at the lighting ceremony of the flame of the Beijing Winter Paralympic Games, Li Duan, the last blind torchbearer, lit the main torch.
It is reported that this is the first time that a blind man has lit a fire at the Winter Paralympic Games, and Li Duan has created history!
Li Duan, 44 years old, born in 1978, is 1.92 meters tall and has been a teammate with Chinese basketball star Wang Zhizhi.
In 1996, when the 18-year-old Li Duan was cleaning, he moved an expired fire extinguisher, when the fire extinguisher suddenly exploded, and the flying debris hit Li Duan, which caused Li Duan to lose his light and the first section of his right index finger was missing.
In the face of sudden doom, Li Duan did not give up on himself, began to learn Braille, and finally returned to the sports field at the age of 20.
Due to his excellent physical condition and excellent bouncing power, Li Duan became a track and field athlete. From 2000 to 2012, he participated in four Paralympic Games and won four gold medals.
At the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games, Li Duan won the men's triple jump F11 class, breaking the world record held by Spanish athletes for 10 years.
Self-improvement is the best portrayal of his athletic career.
Last night, Li Duan held aloft the Olympic torch, stood on the snowflake platform, and finally lit the main torch of the Winter Paralympic Games.
It is reported that Li Duan was only notified two weeks ago to prepare for the opening ceremony, but he did not know that he was a torchbearer.
When talking about why the blind were chosen to light the main torch, the director of the opening ceremony revealed: "We used the boldest way to invite blind people to light the fire. So far, there has been no precedent for blind people lighting fires in paralympic and winter paralympic games. ”
It is reported that in the process of familiarizing himself with the torch stand, the director team is very concerned about Li Duan's safety, constantly reminding him to pay attention to the flames and not to bake his face.
In this regard, Li Duan promised that he had no problem, "Although I can't see the light of the flame, I can still feel its warmth, just on the upper right of my face." ”
He also said; "I'm not just speaking for myself, but for all athletes and athletes with disabilities, and I'm particularly excited and confident that I want to show the spirit of self-improvement among these athletes and the 85 million people with disabilities across the country."
It is worth mentioning that when the main torch was lit, a small detail occurred, Li Duan encountered a little trouble, and in the end, he still succeeded!
At the scene, the audience cheered for him loudly, shouted encouragement, Li Duan was very excited, and the picture of him shaking his fist and cheering made people cry!