Liu Yu of China pumped her fists in the air and yelled after finishing third in the women's 50m backstroke S5 final at the Paris Paralympic Games on Tuesday.

From being an orphan to becoming a multi-medal winner at the Paralympic Games, Liu was overjoyed by the highlights of her life. However, being a champion had never been her main goal.

Liu Yu of China competes during the Women's 200m Freestyle S5 Final at the 4th Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Oct. 24, 2023. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)

"My biggest dream is to have a family of my own and I have fulfilled it long before," she said. "But in the meantime, I want to make some achievements to show my gratitude to my country."

Liu is unsure if she is 35 years old. When she was taken to the orphanage in Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang Province, the staff estimated she was about two years old and registered her birthday as June 1, Children's Day.

"As I could not walk, the older boys and girls in the orphanage would carry me on their backs to school," Liu recalled about her childhood. "I received surgeries for my legs a few times, all sponsored by our country or some kind people. I remembered once when I was at hospital, an elderly lady bought me a cellphone... There were so many things like that."

At 15, Liu had the opportunity to learn how to swim and immediately showed her talent. "I could float on water and was not scared at all. I felt I belonged to the pool and really enjoyed being in the water."

She loved swimming, but she was more eager to study. "At that time, I was not sure why I should keep swimming. I thought knowledge could change one's life and broaden one's mind, so I wanted to focus on my study," Liu explained, which is why she stopped swimming training in high school.

Liu became the first college student from her orphanage and met her future husband in college.

She didn't ask for much, but she wanted to pursue self-improvement. "There won't be many people who could compete at the highest level. And I really want to do something for my country in return."

Liu resumed swimming training in 2014, admitting that it was a painful journey back to the pool.

"To be competitive, I have to spend more time on training. All I can do is work harder and harder," said Liu.

At the Tokyo Games three years ago, Liu reached her peak with two gold medals and set a world record. She felt guilty that she couldn't be with her husband and daughter very often, but both of them supported her decision to compete in one more Paralympics.

"My daughter is so proud of me. Whenever she has the chance, she would tell others that I'm her role model," said Liu.

Before Tuesday's final, Liu had finished fourth in three events. "I did feel disappointed. I was so close to the podium."

She wasn't sure how well she could perform in her last event, but her teammates Lu Dong and He Shenggao gave her a pep talk.

"Both of them have better results than me, but they encouraged me by saying 'let's have three national flags at the medal ceremony,'" revealed Liu.

"So in the last five meters of the race, I was just thinking of three national flags. My hand hit the wall so heavily that it still hurts," said Liu after following Lu and He to take the bronze.

"It's my last Paralympic Games," said Liu. "I couldn't be happier."

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