When Liu Yu stood on the podium of the Tokyo Paralympic Games, witnessed the bright five-star red flag rising, and listened to the rousing national anthem, she couldn't help but wet her eyes with tears. The girl who came out of the welfare home finally "swam" out of a wonderful life.
This article was published in the magazine China Women
In August 2021, when I learned that I had been selected for the Chinese team's roster for the Tokyo Paralympic Games, I was excited with a hint of trepidation. Although two years ago, I had already participated in the 10th National Paralympic Games and achieved three gold, one silver and one bronze, but the first time I participated in such a high-standard international event, I could not hide my excitement and sweat for myself.
Liu Yu won the gold medal in the women's 150m individual medley and the gold medal in the women's 50m backstroke in the women's 50m backstroke at the Tokyo Paralympic Games, and broke the world record. In September 2021, he was awarded the May Fourth Medal of Chinese Youth, the National March 8th Red Banner Bearer, and the National May Day Labor Medal (Photo/ Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhu Wei)
The world is so big, I want to see it
In 1991, I was sent to Mudanjiang Children's Welfare Institute, and the teachers accepted me with warm embrace and motherly love, because they did not know my exact date of birth, and the teachers set my birthday on June 1 every year.
In the welfare home, when I learned that if we disabled children can't get into college, we have to go to the nursing home to continue to receive help from the government and society when we become adults. Every winter and summer vacation, when I saw my brothers and sisters who were in college visiting us, I couldn't help but feel envious, and secretly said to myself: "One day, I will also go out of the welfare institute and go outside to go to college!" ”
The road to school was arduous, and due to congenital cerebral palsy, my legs were weak and it was difficult to walk. From the first day of school, I was carried to school by my teacher or older brother and sister, "Today after school, you carry Liu Yu, tomorrow I will carry it!" "The warm words of the friends sincerely helped me throughout my childhood.
One winter in junior high school, the cold was bone-chilling, on the way to carry me out of school, because the ground was too slippery, my little friend accidentally fell, and at the moment when he fell to the ground, he was still trying to balance his body and try not to let me fall. Back at the welfare home, the teachers found that his jaw had broken and he had stitched a full five stitches. Seeing my little friend's appearance of enduring pain, my tears also fell.
With the help of well-wishers and the contact of teachers, I went to major hospitals in Harbin and Beijing and underwent five rehabilitation surgeries. After each surgery, my legs hurt heartily. But I never wanted to back down, I have been actively cooperating with the doctor to do rehabilitation training, and I have never shed a tear no matter how painful. No matter how many times you fall, you will get up. Because I know that every small step I take now means a big step forward in my life.
"Bitter people, the sky is not the burden", finally one day, I took the first step since I was born to walk independently on my own! The pace is slow, but I did it myself! Since then, my ideal has become even stronger: even if I am crippled, I want to see the world! I was admitted to the Hunan Changsha Civil Affairs Vocational and Technical College, becoming the first disabled child in the welfare institute to be admitted to university.
Prove with hard work that I am not worse than anyone else
In 2014, Heilongjiang Province held the Sixth Provincial Paralympic Games, and the Mudanjiang Disabled Persons' Federation selected athletes throughout the city, and I was also in the ranks of those who were selected. Coach Guan Xiangnan of the provincial swimming team thought that my arms were long and the water felt good, and I was selected for the provincial team.
I still remember the first time I came to the training ground, the bright sun sprinkled all over the plastic track, the sky was jewel-like blue, as if I had never experienced any haze in my life. Just listen to the coach blow a loud whistle, everyone shakes the wheelchair vigorously, scrambling to push the wheelchair forward, one lap, two laps, three laps... Soon, 10 laps ended in your pursuit. The training was over, and I was soaked in this warm atmosphere for a long time and could not extricate myself: "Originally, I can do it too!" "I seem to have found the meaning of life, that is, to use hard work and sweat to prove that I am not worse than anyone."
Disabled people who practice swimming will certainly experience more suffering than normal people. Before each launch, the coach will take us to do some strength training with a large range. Due to the difficulty of balance in my body, my arm is often strained inadvertently. When swimming, I raised my arm and bent it, and the moment I delivered the water, it hurt so much that I couldn't help but squint my eyes. Every evening at the end of training, when I came ashore from the pool, my body was as heavy as lead, and my arms supporting the railing were trembling.
After the 10th National Paralympic Games, I was selected for the national team when I was a mother. More intense training and the longing for family thousands of miles away, the guilt of being a mother who can't accompany her child... For countless nights, I fell asleep with tears in my eyes. But I never wanted to give up!
Gritting my teeth again and again, desperate life after countless failures, and the accumulation of hard work in the weekdays, finally let me win two gold medals at the Tokyo Olympic Games, and break the world record twice in succession, I am proud of myself, I interpreted the Olympic spirit with actions, and witnessed with my life that everything is possible! Now that I am back at the training ground, I want to take advantage of the momentum, continue to work hard, work tenaciously, and strive to surpass myself in the 2022 Asian Games, and strive to create new glory in life.
Dictation/Liu Yu
Source: Chinese women