Para-athletes prep for powder prizes

Tailor-made skis

Shan Yilin was born with a deformed lower right leg, which means she is unable to walk properly.

As a winter biathlete she needs to sit on tailor-made skis to complete the cross-country course and tackle the shooting discipline.

"I am training on skis developed by a research team at Tsinghua University. They have recently come over to see if there is still room for improvement, especially to make the skis strong enough to withstand the pressure if I fall," said the 20-year-old who took up skiing in 2016.

Shan said her legs often become numb when she sits on the skies for too long but that's trivial compared with the joy she derives from the sport. "I am often inspired by my teammates who have more-severe disabilities than me. What's more, skiing is fun. I just love the feeling of sliding on the snow," she said.

Wu's limp was only noticeable when he took off the snowboard at the end of the training session on March 20.

However, he said he wasn't bothered about it as snowboarding success means he no longer feels like a disabled person.

"If I can fly when I snowboard, I can do anything with my artificial limb. My disability no longer gets in the way of how I want to live my life," he said.