BEIJING, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Children should never be confined to a single, predefined path in life, Olympic diving champion Chen Yuxi said while speaking with a group of children with visual impairments at a summer camp in Beijing on Sunday evening.
After recounting her journey of learning to dive and competing at major tournaments, Chen told the group: "The world is diverse, and the version you perceive with your own senses is the most wonderful one of all."
Co-organized by the China Braille Library and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) China, the event brought Chen together with more than 10 young campers with visual impairments from across the country.
To give the children a vivid sense of the sport, audio-described footage of Chen's diving competitions was played. Chen also brought personal items from her career, including her medals, her first swimsuit after joining the national team, her post-dive absorbent towel and the anti-slip mat used on the 10-meter diving platform, for the children to touch and feel, helping bridge the gap between their world and the sport of diving.
During the sharing session, the two-time Olympic champion in the women's synchronized 10-meter platform event spoke about the ups and downs of her diving career. As a child, she was frail and prone to illness, and few believed she could persevere in the demanding sport. She once considered quitting amid intense training but persisted with the support of her coaches and teammates, eventually reaching the top of the podium. She also spoke of periods of frustration during years of competition that led her to take a break after the 15th National Games in 2025.
"I decided to travel farther to experience the diverse beauty the world has in store for me," she recalled. In Iceland, she could barely remain standing against strong winds on a sandy beach. In Norway, she plunged into the icy seawater, with the biting cold clearing her mind. "Truths I couldn't capture with my eyes seemed to speak to me through sound, smell and touch, and I realized how much I love diving," she said.
The campers asked Chen a raft of questions, mostly about her diving career and how she deals with setbacks.
Chen Shuang, a 16-year-old student from Kaifeng, central China's Henan Province, said the champion's story inspired her to believe that as long as one has clear goals, maintains passion and perseveres through difficulties, rewards are sure to follow. A piano lover with an interest in psychology, she hopes to become a music therapist in the future.
Huang Zimao from Tianjin in north China has practiced rope skipping. He underperformed because of mental stress at China's 12th National Games for Persons with Disabilities and the 9th National Special Olympic Games. "I will keep working hard on rope skipping," he said after hearing Chen's story. His long-term goal is to study medicine and find a cure for visual impairment.
"This interaction has given me so much strength. The way they perceive the world has showed me a whole new perspective on life," Chen told Xinhua after the event.
The China Disabled Persons' Federation estimated that the country had about 85 million people with disabilities at the end of 2010. Among them, roughly 24.7 million had limb impairments, 20.5 million had hearing impairments and 12.6 million had visual impairments.
As outlined in China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), the country will improve social security and care service systems for persons with disabilities, expand rehabilitation support for children with disabilities, and strengthen community- and family-based care services.
Chen called on the public to treat children with and without disabilities equally. "We should give them more independent space to grow freely," she said. "They can explore the world just like any other child: run on the grass, make friends with peers, and attend the same schools as other kids," she said.
Looking ahead to the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, Chen told Xinhua that she has adopted a more open mindset than at the previous edition. "I'm no longer the girl who only cared about competition results three years ago. Now I focus more on my own experience and my understanding of the sport of diving," she noted.
Away from the diving platform, Chen spends her spare time rock climbing, taking photographs and meditating, and no longer fixates on a single goal to the point of obsession. "This time I will enjoy the competition more," she added. Enditem
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