Xin Shun from Qingdao won the gold medal in men’s javelin throw with 66.63 meters at the 23rd Summer Deaflympics held in Turkey on July 25.

Xin’s win was the first ever individual gold medal for Qingdao at a Deaflympics.

Born in 1992, Xin loved throwing sticks as a child. However, a fever he had at the age of three resulted in hearing disorder he had been suffering ever since.

The disability had made his training as a javelin throw athlete much more difficult and he had to put in a lot more efforts than ordinary people did.

Xin said his father also liked javelin throw very much and even once won the first place at an amateur sports meeting. However, coming from a poor family, Xin’s father had to give up his dream to become a javelin throw champion and started a small business to support his family. When learning about these stories from his father, Xin decided to fulfill his father’s dream.

“I made it,” he said. “My next goal is to break the 70-meter mark.”