Coming in from the cold

Gold-medal winner Yang Hongqiong revels in the power of sports

Yang Hongqiong, China's para cross-country skier who clinched the women's long distance sitting gold at the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics, said sports have changed her life forever and made her a stronger person.

A Paralympic debutant, the 32-year-old Yang finished the 15-kilometer race in 43 minutes and 6.7 seconds on Sunday at the National Biathlon Centre in Zhangjiakou, closely followed by American star Oksana Masters.

"Before I started taking part in different sports, I would always try to avoid contact with people as much as possible. Now I love to tell jokes and make others laugh," said Yang, adding that sports have strengthened her will. "I used to be a person who gave up easily. Now I know I can fight to the end."

Before switching to snow sports, Yang, who hails from Southwest China's Yunnan province, was a wheelchair basketball athlete.

"Winning gold is so surreal. With this medal, we've proved that Team China has unlimited potential for winter sports. The sweat and tears, all the effort I put into training, that's what put the gold medal in my hands."

Masters, who has bagged eight gold medals in sprint, middle and long distance sitting events at the world championships since 2017, overtook Yang several times during Sunday's race, presenting Yang with her toughest moments.

"I told myself that I am here representing all the people with disabilities in China. There was no reason for me to give up," she said. "Also, I heard the crowd cheering for me. With that in the background, the more I skied, the more powerful I felt."

Masters, 32, said that, although she didn't know Yang before the Winter Paralympics, she believes Yang's win will elevate the sport in China.

"That's the thing about China, that they're very surprising every time. You never see them until the Winter Paralympics. But they're very strong and they perform and know how to perform in the right races. They are great competitors," Masters said.

Also on Sunday, Zheng Peng won China's first cross-country skiing medal in Paralympic history with victory in the men's long distance sitting race.

He pulled off the stunning win after covering the 18-km course in 43 min 9.2 sec.

Together with two titles from the para biathlon events on Saturday, Team China has clinched four gold medals at the National Biathlon Centre so far, surprising many on the global stage.

Yang believed it's down to the country's strong support and systematic training. "We just follow the coaches' training plans without making any compromises. Everyone in the team works hard and we do it together."