Passing on the baton

It was about 17 years ago, during a freezing winter with bitterly cold winds. Jia Juntingxian, a visually impaired athlete was practicing the long jump. She listened carefully to the sound of clapping from her coach in order to judge direction, then she started to run. As she gathered speed, she heard the coach shout for her stop, but it was too late－the howling wind had interfered with her judgement, and she ran in the wrong direction, into a guard rail.

During the following long period of recovery, her head would ache every time she tried to train, she often felt dizzy, which would cause her to vomit, and she suffered from tension in her eye sockets.

When Jia stood on the podium of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympic Games as a champion of the 4x100-meter relay race and a world record breaker, she recalled that moment, and all of the painstaking effort she had put in over the years. She was extremely excited, and felt that the struggle had been worth it.

Born in Pingxiang city, Jiangxi province in 1986, Jia was found to have sight problems when she was 10 months old. Despite visiting specialists in cities across China, her parents were told that, unless there was a major medical breakthrough, their daughter's eyesight would not improve.

At grade one in primary school, when the teacher told students to look at the blackboard, Jia followed but could not see anything. "That was the time I realized I was different from others. I had never felt that before. I had always believed I was ordinary," says Jia.

Since that moment, she would often feel sad, and every time her mother noticed, she would embrace Jia, rub her cheek with her own, and whisper comforting words. "My baby girl, as long as you put in enough effort, you can do anything other people can do," she would say. Jia still remembers she used her hand to touch her mother's face, and it felt wet.

From the age of 3, Jia was required to do things on her own, like washing her clothes, or cleaning her bowl after meals. She also learned to sew, and even won a button sewing competition at primary school.

Moreover, she was required to make her own way home from school with her classmates－many years later finding out that her parents were there, following her from a distance.

Jia's parents both died of cancer in 2017, and she says she still cannot shake the grief of losing them, but their education shaped her, and plays a leading role in her life.

"Living in eternal darkness, without any clear understanding of the world, I had to rely on my parents, and others by my side, to help me live like an ordinary person," says Jia.

She showed a talent for sport at primary school, and won championships in long jump and shotput, but she always envied her counterparts who were free to run at speed.

At junior high school she was introduced by a teacher to a special education school, and met other students with visual impairments. When she went to Pingxiang disabled persons' federation to apply for a disability certificate in 2002, she just happened to meet a coach who was recruiting athletes for para sports.

The meeting became a turning point in her life, taking her to Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi province, where she began training in earnest and, more importantly, learned to run.

After just a year, she took part in the sixth national games for the disabled in 2003, and won two silver medals in running. In one of the events her final time was only 0.01 seconds slower than the gold medalist. It was her first attempt at a national-level competition, and she was soon drafted to the national team.

"My coach and teammates all cheered for me, but I was not satisfied. I thought if I had worked harder in daily training, the gold medal might have been mine. So, since then, I have trained harder, always completing many more tasks than those assigned by my coach," says Jia.

Her efforts have paid dividends, winning no less than 43 medals－a collection of gold and silver－at national and international competitions, and several world records to her name.

"Although she lost her eyesight, she is firm in spirit. She has endured hardships that ordinary people cannot imagine, struggled with her destiny and achieved incredible things. She is an influential figure in Pingxiang," says Zhang Changwei, a neighbor of Jia.

Recalling her years as an athlete, Jia says she enjoyed the experience very much. "At that time, I always felt physically tired after training, sometimes for a whole day, but mentally happy, since my prospects seemed bright. I had a goal to strive for, and needed to ensure my performance times were better than those of the previous day. That was very fulfilling," says Jia.

In 2017, Jia retired and chose to become a teacher at a special education school in Pingxiang. Just a year ago, she found out that two young brothers, both with visual impairments, living in a remote mountainous village in Pingxiang, wanted to emulate her achievements.

Jia visited them to see if there was anything she could do to help. She discovered that they had never attended a special education school and that, due to an issue with his legs, the younger boy would never achieve his athletic dream. Jia could only help them attend a local special education school.

The experience made her realize that some physically and mentally challenged children living in remote areas may have little knowledge of special education. Even she didn't know about such schools until late into her education. As a result, she decided to become more engaged with special education.

She teaches normal subjects like Chinese, math, politics and special subjects for those with visual impairments, like Braille and directional walking. She carefully records the conditions of each student, and tries to teach them in accordance with their needs and skills.

She remembers a visually impaired student surnamed Gai. When he first attended the school, he was 11 years old and didn't know how to behave. He learned Braille from Jia, who often lent books to him.

One day, he told Jia that, thanks to her, he had discovered an interest in reading. At that moment, Jia was very moved.

In her spare time, she often does voluntary work with her husband Li Xiaowen, who was also a decorated para athlete. They offer a massage service to elderly people in the community, and visit visually impaired people in remote mountainous areas to offer help. Over the years, she and Li have done about 5,000 hours of voluntary work, donated around 200,000 yuan ($29,500) and helped nearly 1,000 disabled people.

"Jia sold her house to fund her parents' treatment and her family became poor, but she still tries her best to help others. We are all very moved by that," says Zhang.

"I have received so much help since childhood. I want to pass on the goodwill to others, even through the smallest things I can do," says Jia.