Life without limits: Road to the championship of 'basketball girl'

On Sept. 1, Qian Hongyan, also known as the 'basketball girl', claimed the title of women's 100m backstroke competition at the 10th Yunnan Paralympics Games.

Qian lost her legs in a car accident in October 2000, when she was four years old. From then on, she has to live with a basketball which is used to cover the bottom of her upper body, and 'walks' with her arms.

She has started her athlete career since August 2007. Through unremitting efforts, she entered into 'Yunzhinan' Youth Swim Club in the same year.

In 2009, she won one gold medal and two silver medals at the National Swimming Championship for the Disabled (under 18). At the same competition held in Zhejiang in 2010, she won three silver medals. And last year, at the 9th Yunnan Paralympics Games she won three gold medals. This year, she has proven herself again with a score of 1:56, half a minute ahead of the competition. 'She is a super hardworking girl,' her coach said.