An unbreakable spirit

After two weeks of intense training, which saw him continuously fall and roll over, or get thrown into the snow, in March 1999, Wang participated in the Ridderrennet, or the Knight's Race-an annual cross-country ski race for the visually and physically challenged-held in Beitostolen, Norway.

He won two gold medals for China. These were for the men's 10km cross-country skiing and biathlon, which involves cross-country skiing and target shooting.

At that time, Wang was studying with a full scholarship at the United World College Red Cross Nordic in Norway as the school's first student from the Chinese mainland. UWC is an international network with 18 schools and colleges worldwide for students aged 15 to 19 to study an IBDP curriculum.

It all started when his headmaster Tony Macoun asked whether he would like to join his classmates skiing or stay with a host family for Christmas. Wang's answer helped him overcome any psychological barriers concerning the physical challenge. He also learned canoeing there.

His arm strength, accounting for the rapid progress he made in skiing, benefited from frequent swimming during his rehabilitation. He had been with the national swimming team for people with physical challenges for three years. He was proud of his ability to do hundreds of pull-ups at a time.

Wang underwent painstaking rehabilitative training to stand again and to be able to walk with the aid of crutches. In those gloomy adolescent days, without classmates to encourage him, Wang saw the physical exercise as a ray of "sunlight" to relieve psychological pressure.