Paralympic Classifications

Li Duan, a sight-impaired long-jumper from northeast China's Liaoning Province, leapt into the headlines when he won the gold medal for China at the Paralympics in Athens in the men's competition.

He beat American Elexis Gillette and Russian Sergey Sevostianov.

"The coach is my eyes," Li said, describing the unique relation between the blind long-jumper and his coach.

The athletes depend entirely on the voice of the coach to adjust their own steps in the approach and make the final jump.

"Come, come, come, Li Duan!" Li's coach Jin Fan called out as Li stood on the right position at the start line, clapping his hands in a rhythmic pattern.

Li ran forward to the beat, gauging his steps to make his leap.

Not every attempt is a success.

On his fifth attempt on competition day, Li's pace was off and he very nearly ended up in a dangerous crash.

But none of the 13 jumpers that day showed any fear.

Their bravery and skill earned frequent applause from the audience.

Sight-impaired athletes also competed in the women's 200-meter heats and men's 10,000-meter on their first day of competition.

Although there is only one champion, all of them are winners in overcoming their darkness.

(China Daily September 24, 2004)