At the 10th National Paralympic Games, Lin Sitong won two gold medals in the women's javelin and shot put. Courtesy of respondents
Ningde, March 18 (Lu Qiaoqin, Wu Yunjie) "Don't care about some bad external interference, come out and try different things, and become a better self." Lin Sitong, the champion of the Jakarta Asian Para Games and a fujian Ningde athlete, told reporters with a smile on the 18th.
Lin Sitong, 22 years old this year, was paralyzed in the lower limbs by sudden acute myelitis at the age of 4, and has been with a wheelchair for life ever since.
"Since I can remember, I have hated wheelchairs, felt that heaven is very unfair, and I will have no connection with the wonderful world outside in my life." Recalling those dark days, Lin Sitong said that even if he went to school, he could not be happy, and slowly became inferior, not very talkative, and less willing to communicate with people.
Lin Sitong in life. Courtesy of respondents
Such days lasted until the age of 13, and sports brought a turning point to Lin Sitong's life. In 2013, the Fujian Provincial Disabled Sports Team selected members, with the support and encouragement of the Disabled Persons' Federation at all levels, teachers and families, with the mentality of trying it out, Lin Sitong began training in Ningde, and in less than a month, she entered the Fujian Provincial Disabled Athletics Team.
A year later, Lin Sitong won his first medal in the shot put at the National Para's Athletics Championships. In 2015, Lin Sitong, as the youngest athlete in Fujian, participated in the 9th National Para games for the first time and won the first gold medal of his individual sports career.
"I was lucky, according to the popular saying now, to be a lucky 'koi'." Lin Sitong said.
Behind the luck, more is the long-term hard work. When Lin Sitong came to the Fujian Provincial Paralympic Athletics Team in 2013, the foundation was almost zero. In order to enhance her arm strength and explosiveness and improve her shooting speed, chen Jianmin, the coach in charge, asked her to slide her wheelchair uphill with her hands on the 150-meter-long ramp every day, 3 trips in groups of 5 at a time, and hundreds of softball practices.
"At that time, I was training every day crying, my muscle reaction was very painful, and I was uncomfortable when I went to sleep at night with my two hands." Lin Sitong said that independent life can not adapt, in the past life is the care of parents, to the team a lot of things have to deal with alone, for a while it is difficult to accept.
The hardships in training and the helplessness in life have made Lin Sitong think of giving up many times. But every time, she gritted her teeth and persevered, "The pain is there, it feels like life is there, and it means that hope is there." ”
The sword blade came out of the grinding, and the plum blossom fragrance came from the bitter cold. In 2017, at the Asian Youth Para Games held in Dubai, Lin Sitong threw a personal best of 22.23 meters in the women's javelin and won the gold medal; in the 2018 Asian Para Games in Jakarta, the 10th National Para games in 2019, and the 11th National Para games in 2021, Lin Sitong won two gold medals in javelin and shot put.
"It's like fighting monsters to level up, and every progress is accumulating battle points." Lin Sitong said with a smile that after winning the gold medal, he wanted to get better results and insisted on it.
Competition after competition, medal after medal, but also let Lin Sitong gradually realize his value and shining points, become cheerful and confident, in a wheelchair blooming Fanghua life.
Lin Sitong said that he hopes that disabled people who lack sports will participate in sports projects, try different things, and reconcile with their own physical shortcomings.
When it comes to the future, Lin Sitong hopes to achieve better results. "Train well, play more games, go further afield, see the bigger world, meet a better version of yourself." (End)