Amputee Who Learned To Walk Using A Basketball Is Now An Olympic Athlete

In 2000, when Qian Hongyan was just four years old, she was hit by a truck near her home in Luliang County, in southwestern China’s Yunnan province. Even though she survived the accident, the young girl still ended up paying a heavy price. Unable to save them, doctors were forced to amputate both of Qian’s legs, and because her family was extremely poor, she did not have access to rehabilitation facilities or prostheses. Out of desperation, Qian’s grandfather cut up an old basketball to replace her lower body, which she used, along with a set of paddles, to teach herself how to walk again.

In 2005, Qian was photographed using her basketball base and became a mini celebrity to the locals, who gave her the name Basketball Girl.

Soon after, her unusual circumstance caught the attention of international audiences.

Thanks to her newfound fame and the generosity of donors, Qian was able to travel to Beijing, where she was fitted with a pair of prosthetic legs.

Then, in 2007, she joined South of the Cloud, a swimming team geared toward disabled teens.