In December, Zhangjiakou lies quietly beneath ice and snow.
The arrival of national Para biathlete Wang Tao and his teammates brings renewed energy to the Olympic Village.
The National Biathlon Center in Zhangjiakou’s Chongli District hosted the biathlon events at the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, where gold medals were awarded across 29 events.
Returning to the same place, Wang Tao remains moved by his memories of competing there. “It feels like yesterday. I can still see everything so clearly.”
What has he learned and experienced through nearly seven years of daily training with the national team since 2017? What sustains his determination while preparing for major competitions? What is the first thing he thinks of when he enters the course? And what does each competition give him?
In conversation, we came to know different sides of him: in training, in competition and in everyday life.
The following account is based on Wang Tao’s own words.
A wholehearted love of sport
My love of sport is direct and wholehearted.
I put everything into it and keep moving forward.
I lost my right leg in a traffic accident when I was 13, but it never changed my active nature. After I became an athlete, that youthful energy developed into an eagerness to take on challenges. Years of training taught me to channel it into steady effort toward my goals.
Those may seem like contrasting qualities in a biathlete. The sport calls for a sense of adventure, while the strength and endurance it demands can only be developed through long-term training.
Biathlon combines cross-country skiing and shooting. We have four training sessions a day, between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m., and spend more than 300 days a year at the training base. In summer, we train on asphalt, where a moment’s inattention can lead to a fall. My arms, waist, hips and thighs have often been badly scraped or bruised. In winter, we train on snow. Circulation in my amputated leg is already limited, and the cold wind cuts through my training clothes, striking my knee like ice and chilling my whole body.
Our initial training squad had more than 100 people. After successive rounds of selection, only 33 athletes remained to compete at the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games.
Sport has strengthened both my body and my mind. Physical pain, demanding training and a difficult path to qualification do not stop us. When we compete, a sense of honor rises within us. It gives our conviction the strength to carry us through each event.
Quiet concentration in competition
Once a competition begins, I become quiet and serious. I concentrate so intensely on the event that the voices and activity around me fade away.
Then I begin to enjoy the journey through ice and snow: the shift between the movement of skiing and the stillness of shooting, and the changes and surprises along the way. White snow stretches before me, and I feel part of the winter landscape. Every breakthrough excites me. Away from everyday noise, with passion and courage, I trace a path of my own through this course and this world.
These are our moments to shine as athletes with limb differences. They are not defined by winning or losing, but by moving beyond physical and external limits, traveling freely and feeling our spirits soar.
Moving forward with support
I first got to know Zeanso in October.
When I first tried the independently developed Jiguang smart knee, I adapted quickly and could walk naturally. I then tried slopes and descending stairs with alternating steps. Moving through different indoor and outdoor settings also felt easy and comfortable.
Its carbon-fiber shell and biomimetic design, stumble response and standing lock, and adaptive walking and cycling modes all made an impression on me. Over the next two months, Jiguang’s appearance, safety features and intelligent functions helped me develop a sense of trust in my prosthesis, physically and mentally. I realized that a prosthesis could accompany me like a friend, helping me explore more of everyday life beyond the competition course and discover possibilities beyond existing limits.
I believe winter sports in China will continue to grow and achieve new results internationally. As users and Chinese prosthetic brands move forward together and create change, we can also help bring Chinese smart prosthetics to the wider world.