Members of the "Dieyun" ski team look on in a training session at a dry ski training facility in Xindu District of Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb 25, 2022.

(Photo by Xinhua News)

 

When seeing the boys and girls skiing down the slope, no one will realize they are anything different from other ski-loving youngsters until noticing their coach communicating with them mainly through writing and gesturing.

 

All the 15 members of this ski team are students from the special education school in Xindu District of Chengdu, capital city of southwest China's Sichuan Province.

 

These years, they receive professional training at least three times a week after school classes and also assemble for a total of three months of intensive training during annual vacations.

 

Thanks to their hard work, many children began to win prizes in national competitions. They said they wanted to be professional skiers in the future because they love skiing and the sport opens a door for them.

 

Coach Cao Jian instructs as members of the "Dieyun" ski team learn at a dry ski training facility in Xindu District of Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb 25, 2022.

(Photo by Xinhua News)

 

 

Boy Who Won the First Medal

 

 

To everyone's surprise, the hearing-impaired ski team made history in the three months since its inception.

 

In January 2019, the 10th National Paralympic Games and the 7th Special Olympics held a mini ski competition in Harbin, and Hu Haitao was one of the four athletes selected by Sichuan from this team.

 

"We were actually not at all sure of success." Cao Jian said, "We think it would be good to have one of us rushed to the final." The result was three athletes entered the final, and Hu Haitao won the bronze medal in the men's hearing-impaired group's 100-meter final, which is the first medal ever won by the team.

 

(Photo by thecover.cn)

 

"Actually, I can perform even better." Hu Haitao said. Because he had been training in the dry snow field, he had some discomfort when he first arrived at the real snow race. Coupled with lack of experience, his shoes hit the skateboard during the race. "I only had one thought in my mind at that moment, I could not give up, I must rush to the finish line!". When recalling that game, Hu Haitao was still a little excited.

 

This result is enough to make his coach Cao Jian proud. Cao said "The competition was arranged according to the category of disability no to the age range, and many of the people who compete with him are adults."

 

(Photo by thecover.cn)

 

Records continue to be set. In 2021, Hu Haitao once again represented Sichuan in the 11th National Paralympic Games and the 8th Special Olympics, winning two silver medals in the 100-meter and 500-meter of the hearing impaired men's group.

 

This time, the gap between him and the gold medalist was shortened to a few tenths of a second. "There is a lot of potential in him to win the gold medal." Cao Jian added.

 

 

Edited by Zhu Haiyue

Source: Xinhua News  thecover.cn