2022年正值香港特别行政区成立25周年。25年来，香港依托祖国、面向世界，不断塑造自己的现代化风貌。中国日报香港版推出全新人物传记系列视频《黄金时代》（The Gold），纪录与时代、与特区同行的人和事。本期视频我们将跟随香港传奇残疾人运动员苏桦伟的脚步，重温其二十余年的跑步经历，感受他“不断追赶”的快步人生。
“Netizens have called me ‘God Su’ to show their support and love for me. However, in my mind, So Wa-wai is the ‘true god’ of the track,” Su Bingtian said at the exchange session at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
In 1981, So Wa-wai was born into a normal family in Hong Kong. Born with jaundice, So had spasms and severe hearing loss, but was always keen on running.
While studying in Primary 5, his athletics coach, Poon Kin-lui, noticed So’s enthusiasm for running. Poon took So under his wing to begin So’s formal training.
“I still remember the 60-meter relay race. After one of its runners handed off the baton, I saw a young man shoot forward like an arrow. His speed was incredible, and his eyes had fire in them. Eventually, he caught up to the others. I knew this kid in front of me was going to be the star we were looking for,” Poon recalled.
So made his first Paralympic appearance at the 1996 Summer Olympics in the US city of Atlanta, where he won his first gold medal, as part of the men's 4x100m relay team in the T34 classification. It was also the moment that So started his unstoppable running career.
Over the course of the following two Summer Paralympic Games, 2000 in Sydney and 2004 in Athens, So won four gold and two silver medals in a range of individual events, as well as two bronze medals in relay events.
However, So recalled that one of his most unforgettable moments of his athlete life was the men’s 200m T36 race.
“Because I lost in the 100-meter and 400-meter, I had to pin my final hope on the 200-meter sprint,” So said. Pressure to win another gold medal was particularly overwhelming at the Beijing Games.
“To win a gold medal in our motherland for the Hong Kong team is something I've always wanted to achieve. As Hong Kong is part of China, especially after the handover, it made my desire to win even stronger.”
Previous failures had not broken So's fighting spirit. He broke his own world record with a time of 24.64 seconds on the way to winning the gold, making him the Paralympic champion in that event for the third successive time.
“Later at the award ceremony, I did not expect the organizers to play Andy Lau’s song Zhongguo Ren (Chinese People). People sang this song together. The atmosphere was very emotional. At that moment, I felt every effort was worth it.”
Although So Wa-wai has retired from sports, he continues to exude his spirit in other “fields”. As China star sprinter Su Bingtian said: “I saw in So the qualities of both mainland and Hong Kong young people — that is, they do not bow to fate, they remove all difficulties, and strive forward to achieve their dreams.”
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