FROM AMPUTEE TO NATIONAL TEAM ATHLETE

Ten years ago, when she was 14, Tang Xuemei lost a leg in the Wenchuan earthquake, but that didn't stop her from following her dreams.

"When I look back, I feel grateful and lucky. The disaster made me stronger in adversity and changed my world totally. Without it, I wouldn't have the life I have now," the 24-year-old athlete said.

Born to a rural family in Qingchuan county, Sichuan province, Tang had never left her home village until the magnitude 8 earthquake destroyed the remote mountain settlement.