SHANGHAI: Gong Baoren used to win gold medals in the swimming pool, now, he hopes to help disabled people in a new arena: a pig farm.

Despite losing both arms in an accident when he was 8, Gong participated in the Atlanta Paralympic Games in 1996 and won a gold medal in the men's 100m breaststroke SB7. Later he won a silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics and a gold and a silver at the 2004 Athens Paralympics. He was known as the "king of breaststroke without arms".

Gong retired from swimming last year. He used the money he had won to start a pig farm in the Dongling district of Shenyang, capital of Liaoning province. The local government also helped to fund the farm, in an effort to support the disabled but strong-willed Gong.

"Some disabled athletes lack the skills and ability to get a job when they retire. Some even have trouble supporting themselves," Gong, 37, who is the father of a 10-year-old girl, said.

Some of his fellow athletes were even rejected when applying for restaurant jobs, Gong noted.

"I opened a restaurant myself to provide jobs for disabled athletes." Gong said. "It failed because consumers did not wish to be served by the handicapped."

Realizing that many disabled athletes come from rural areas, Gong changed his mind and launched a pig farm. This time, he succeeded.

Next, in cooperation with university technicians, Gong hopes to offer a class in how to set up a pig farm, which he hopes will attract some 60 disabled athletes.

Gong became addicted to swimming when he was a child, but was banned from the pool because he had no arms.

Once, his parents tied his feet when they went to work, so that Gong wouldn't risk his life trying to swim.

"My playmates used to climb through the window, untie me, and help me out. Then they'd bring me back and tie me up again before my parents returned." Gong recalled.

For disabled athletes like Gong, training is no easy task.

"For us swimmers without arms, we must use our heads to hit the wall of the pool in order to make a turn. Sometimes, when you're going fast and hit hard, you get a bump on your head or even draw blood," Gong recalled.

As a veteran of the national swimming team, Gong has witnessed the growth of some current swimmers.

He is paying close attention to the Beijing Paralympic Games, especially the swimming events.

"I'm thinking of setting up a training center for disabled swimmers," he said, "I feel I must pass on my techniques and experience to the next generation."

(China Daily 09/11/2008 page6)