Guo's gold the perfect birthday gift

Birthday girl Guo Yujie got the perfect gift on Saturday－a Paralympic gold medal.

The teenager, who turns 18 on March 16, sped to glory in the women's sprint standing event to claim the first-ever Winter Paralympic gold medal for a Chinese woman on snow and in an individual event.

She hopes her feat shows young people with disabilities that they should never underestimate themselves.

In her Paralympic debut on Saturday, the 17-year-old finished the 6-kilometer course at the National Biathlon Centre in Zhangjiakou in 19 minutes and 43.3 seconds, missing one shot in the two rounds of prone.

"Actually, I thought I was skiing slow. When my coach shouted as I was skiing uphill in the last sprint that I was in top position I thought he was trying to trick me to ski faster. Surprisingly, my coach was right, I was quite fast indeed. The gold medal is beyond my expectation!" she enthused.

Along with teammate Wang Zhidong, Guo was one of the flagbearers for the Chinese delegation during Friday night's opening ceremony.

"I can now proudly say that as a flagbearer I didn't let myself and others down," she said.

Guo was born in Shangyi county, Zhangjiakou, with defects on her left hand. She first tried skiing when she was 11. "I felt exhilaration when my heartbeat started to rise as I skied faster, and the wind roared louder in my ears. I am happy when I am skiing," Guo said.

She then made up her mind to become a para cross-country skier and biathlete. Her decision was also supported by her family.

In biathlon, Guo makes up for her lack of stamina in skiing with precision and speed in the shooting segment.

"I just love the quick switch between high-speed racing and controlling your breathing for shooting. I hope more young people with disability can find their passion in snow sports," she said.

"People with disabilities are not bad at anything. We can stand on the podium of the Winter Paralympics, we can become world champions. People shouldn't belittle themselves just because you think there is a stigma attached to having a disability," Guo said.

Guo's gold is the result of five years of hard training.

Her teammate Liu Zixu also snatched gold in the men's sprint sitting para biathlon on Saturday. The performances of China's para cross-country skiing and biathlon team so far have surprised many－including themselves.

"Honestly, the team didn't expect to be this good. The team has lacked international competition experience because of the COVID-19 pandemic, so it has been difficult to evaluate our level of competitiveness," Guo said.

She said that her parents, relatives, and friends have watched her compete live on TV. "They are all very proud of me. I want to say that I have lived up to their expectations. I am strong."

With three events to go for Guo, she hopes her medal rush has only just begun.

"People may think it is natural to put in less effort since you have won the gold medal, but when the racing moment really comes you still really want to win," she said.