Zhang carries big weight to victory

FUZHOU: Few people know the obstacles strongman Zhang Xiangxiang had to overcome before finally winning his first Olympic gold on Monday. Fewer still are aware that the 25-year-old survived a medical mistake that almost cost him his life.

It's only now, when the champ's remaining days as a professional are numbered after securing China's second weightlifting gold, that all may know the story of Zhang's long march to success.

It was not a passion for sports that made Zhang, of Longyan in Fujian province, decide to become an athlete, but his parents. They took him to a sports school when he was 8 years old in the hope it would make him better behaved and help control his eating habits.