Chinese Paralympic swimmer, Qian Hongyan, wasn’t always known for her swimming abilities.

The 19-year-old hails from a poor family in Luliang county, southwestern China’s Yunnan province. Qian lost her legs in a car accident when she was only four years old. Her family lacked the financial resources to pay for prosthetics, so instead they cut a basketball in half and put cotton inside to help her move. Qian used the basketball as a crutch. According to a Xinhua news report, locals dubbed Qian “basketball girl.”

Over 15 years ago, a local news outlet picked up an image of the “basketball girl” with her classmates. The image soon touched people’s hearts across China, arousing enough attention to help Qian get to Beijing’s China Rehabilitation Research Center. The center, with over 20 years of history providing help to China’s disabled, gave Qian free artificial limbs.

During her treatment at the China Rehabilitation Research Center, Qian began undergoing hydrotherapy. According to a Xinhua report, Qian “felt like a fish discovering water for the first time”. She was quoted “feeling free and happy”.

Qian later became one of the first batch to join China’s first swimming club for the disabled in her home province of Yunnan. Qian then spent four hours a day over the next several years training for the Paralympics.

Through her courage and strength, many consider Qian as a pioneer for increasing national awareness towards China’s disabled. This summer, Qian realized her dream as she competed in the Rio Paralympics. And despite not making it to the finals, Qian noted that just competing with these other athletes was already a big accomplishment. “Those athletes compete at such a high level, I still have room to improve, and now I’m going to work even harder,” Qian said on her Paralympic experience.