A Chinese swimmer has made history again. Last week, Qin Haiyang,    1     won all the 23 gold medals in the men’s breaststroke (蛙泳),     2     (award) as the Best Male Swimmer of the Year 2023 of World Aquatics in Budapest, Hungary. This    3     (recognize) came just a day after he secured the Swimming World Cup Overall Male Award.     4     (amazing), at the championships in Fukuoka, the 24-year old broke the Asian record five times and became the first swimmer in history    5     (earn) all three breaststroke titles at a single edition of the event.

Chinese swimming in men’s breaststroke events was hardly talked about    6    the sudden appearance of Qin. Before him, China’s    7     (late) achievement in the men’s 100m breaststroke even was made by Qi Lieyun when he beat the word record in 1957. Qin’s winning in Fukuoka has filled a 66-year gap    8    China’s history. In breaststroke    9    almost all the movements are underwater, swimmers required high technical skills. “Even    10    slight difference in the angle of your palms is likely to affect your speed in the water,” Qin told Jimu News.

2 . On March 11, 2011, 16-year-old Yuzuru Hanyu was skating at a local rink when the ice beneath him began cracking. He was experiencing 2011’s deadly Great East Japan Earthquake, which had a magnitude of 9.0 and killed at least 18,500 people. The event left him with a greater determination to make every day count.

He was introduced to the world of figure skating at the age of 4. As he watched his sister skate, her coach suggested that the energetic little boy give skating a try. He loved the sport and entered his first competition at age 10. By the time he was 19, Hanyu had won two Olympic gold medals. This achievement made him the first Asian skater in the men’s singles category to be an Olympic champion.

What sets Hanyu apart from other competitive figure skaters? At 53 kilograms, he’s thin. But Hanyu is very strong and able to perfectly perform jumps and moves on the ice that others can only attempt. Hanyu’s performances feature long, smooth and high leg kicks. As he glides effortlessly across the ice, he sometimes looks more like a ballet dancer than a figure skater.When people watch Hanyu perform, it’s clear how much he enjoys himself, and the audiences love him in return. After many performances, people in the crowd shower Hanyu with his loved Pooh Bears.

There’s no denying Hanyu’s star power on the ice, but he’s admired off the ice as well. Since the deadly earthquake, Hanyu has helped raise funds for victims. Over the past 10 years, he has also personally given about US$300,000 to help rebuild the local ice rink in Sendai, Hanyu’s hometown. The little boy who started out at his neighborhood rink is now adored by people from around the globe.

For followers of freestyle skiing and fashion alike, the buzz surrounding Winter Olympian Eileen Gu at this year’s Games has become     1     hit.

Gu’s gold-medal     2     (perform) in the competition pushed her into the global spotlight on Tuesday, sparking     3     a craze in China that social media platform Weibo crashed. But Gu has spent years establishing herself as both a top athlete and a     4     (huge) reliable model.

Having switched her sporting devotion     5     her mother’s home country in 2019, Gu has also got her place in Chinese TV ads. JD. com is among the famous brands that she     6     (model) for in recent months. In fact, she arrived in Beijing with more than 20 commercial partnerships,     7     (range) from Beats to Cadillac.

“The fashion world has helped balance my training,” Gu said. “Just like skiing, modeling     8     (require) creativity, confidence and the ability     9     (learn) and adapt. The transition between modeling and skiing becomes a practice for each other,     10     helped me feel more motivated in each area.”

4 . Qian Hongyan waited on the starting block, supporting herself using her hands and torso (躯干). When the starting signal sounded, Qian pushed herself in. She won the silver medal in the women’s 100-meter breaststroke (蛙泳) SB5 final in the 11th National Games for Persons with Disabilities held in Xi’an, Shaanxi province in 2021.

Qian, from Luliang of Yunnan province, had both of her legs cut off after getting into an accident in 2000 when she was 4 years old. Her family were extremely poor. With little resources available, her grandfather cut up an old basketball to replace her lower body. Since then, she became well-known for moving around while balanced on an orange ball, earning her the nickname “basketball girl”.

Qian’s passion for swimming dates back to 2007, when she was invited by the local disabled people’s federation to watch the 2008 National Paralympic Games in Kunming, capital of Yunnan. At 11 years old, she joined the provincial swimming team for people with disabilities. However, without legs, it was difficult for Qian to keep her balance in water. “Swimming without legs is like rowing a boat without a rudder (船舵). I tended to swing due to a poor sense of direction.” Qian said. To help her overcome the difficulty, her coach designed a special training plan for her. Every day, she practiced for at least four hours. She made great efforts to enhance her arm strength and balance.

In 2009, she won three gold medals in the provincial contests in Yunnan, as well as one gold medal and two silvers at national events. In 2014, she won another gold medal in the 100m breaststroke final in the Yunnan Provincial Paralympic Games. In the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games, she placed ninth in the 100m breaststroke.

Qian’s journey to create a future for herself, despite losing both legs in a tragic accident, has become the story that inspired thousands of disabled people in China.