A tale of inspiration -- China's "armless mermaid" blows past limits

TOKYO, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- Competing in her third Paralympics in Tokyo, Lu Dong broke a swimming world record that has remained unbroken for 11 years, winning her third gold in the Games.

"This is the one I'm most satisfied with. It's my best time," said the 29-year-old after claiming gold in the women's 50m backstroke S5 final on August 30.

In the backstroke swimming competition, Lu, who lost both her arms in a car accident at age six, could not hold the edge of the pool to launch herself into the race. Instead, she had to grip a towel between her teeth before diving backwards at the start of the pool.

Lu Dong of China competes in the mixed 4x50m freestyle relay 20 points final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games on Aug. 26, 2021. (Xinhua/Xiong Qi)

Dubbed the "armless mermaid," Lu swam to gold in a world record-breaking time of 37.18 seconds, powered only by her legs and beating Spain's Teresa Perales, who had the use of her arms.

Lu took up the sport aged 13, encouraged by the local federation for people with disabilities in northeast China's Liaoning Province.

Swimming has opened up a whole new world for Lu in the aftermath, and she has undergone hard training that is unimaginable for most ordinary people.

With no arms to help, Lu can only touch the wall with her head at the finish line, but with the speed to push her body through the water, the pain from that final bump is always worth it. "In competition, even 0.1 second counts, and you've just got to press on," she said.

In Tokyo, Lu also competed in the women's 50m butterfly S5, women's 100m freestyle S5, mixed 4x50m freestyle relay 20 points and women's 200m individual medley SM5.

Lu also claimed a gold in the women's 50m butterfly S5 final, another world-record-breaking event, which she said has made up for the disappointment from Rio 2016, where she won silver in the event.

Armless Lu Dong cooks food with her left foot. (Xinhua)

"I wanted to try something new and get to know more people with impairments," Lu said. The sport has been a personal boost for her, giving her a feeling of self-worth and confidence.

Lu has made "higher, faster and stronger" her life motto, but achieving good results in swimming competitions is just one of her goals as she seeks a triumph against adversity.

Encouraged by her mother, Lu tried to reshape her life, learning to do everything with her feet, ranging from cooking and playing piano to playing online games on her cell-phone. She can even do her makeup with her feet.

"When I'm not busy with training, I try to cook by myself. My specialty dish is braised coca-cola chicken wings," she said.