Having bagged a haul of honor and pride, So Wa-wei now is ready for new start. So says he is considering taking part in the 2012 Paralymic Games in London. Edmond Tang / China Daily

He was born with cerebral palsy - yet in his own right So Wa-wai has become a star - as a multiple Gold medalist at the Paralympic Games. Ming Yeung reports.

So Wa-wai may gets a little uneasy when people look at him oddly when he is taken by occasional tremors or involuntary movements. But he's OK. The way he looks at it, in his world of track and field, he knows he is still unbeatable.

The six-time Paralympics Gold medalist and a world record holder in 100m and 200m men's T36 classification was born with cerebral palsy. He also has difficulty hearing, He didn't feel discriminated against in that he rarely had the opportunity to play with other able-bodied kids.

So attended the Hong Kong Red Cross Princess Alexander School - a school for kids with special needs. The way he sees it, a lot of other disabled kids suffered a lot more than he did.

"Apart from walking slowly and having difficulty in listening, it was felt like bliss when I compared myself to the others who could barely walk," So says optimistically with an infectious grin that reflects how much he loves life even though life may not have been entirely kind to him.

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 formal training.

"He told me my limbs were coordinated pretty well which is essential to a sprinter," So recalls.

So made his first Paralympic appearance at the 1996 Games in Atlanta, where he won his first gold medal, as part of the men's 4x100m relay team in the T34 classification, the first in Hong Kong's sports history. It was also the moment when So came to realize his mission in life.

"I started to know I'm gifted (in running), therefore I decided to give it a try even though I wasn't so sincere in the very beginning," he laughs.

With a spontaneous grin on his face, So Wa-wei sees optimism, along with teamwork and perseverance, as his keys to success. Edmond Tang / China Daily

So, has proven unbeatable since his first championship - he turned his focus to beating his own records.

The 29-year-old understood too well how much effort he would have to put in to shine at the track. But at the same time, So acknowledged that equally important as winning, was working hand-in-hand with his teammates.

"It is a game of give and take," So says, referring to how their excellent teamwork ultimately landed them the gold medal in 400m at the 2000 Paralympic Games.

Over the course of the two summer Paralympic Games, 2000 in Sydney and 2004 in Athens, So won of four gold and two silver medals in a range of individual events, up to a distance of 400m, as well as two bronze medals in relay events.

Amid huge success nonetheless, So's participation in the sport was put into doubt. In 2004, when he just finished the public examination, an injury to his father rendered him unable to work. So was forced to give up his training and take up a full time job to support his family.

Timely help with his situation came from Andy Lau, a local entertainer and the singer of the Beijing Paralympic Games official theme song "Flying with the dream", who offered So a full-time job with the flexibility to allow him to train for the competitions.

So says his perseverance for the sport would not uphold without his family's support. "Without them, I would not have endured the external and internal pressure," he says. "My mom has given me a hassle-free environment for me to chase my dream."

In 2008, So was chosen to be part of the torch relay as the Olympic flame passed through Hong Kong en route to Beijing. At the Summer Paralympics Games, So led the Hong Kong team into the Bird's Nest Stadium during the opening ceremony as flagbearer.

Pressure to win another gold medal was particularly overwhelming at the Beijing Games.

He could muster only bronze in the 100m, and then came sixth in the 400m.

"I felt like I had disappointed everyone. My mom was watching me, I didn't want to let her down," So reminisces.

Apart from what he described as "slow response" in the beginning, another thing that threw him was a fellow competitor, Paul Pavlikovsky from Ukraine.

"There was no fellow competitor who could make me so nervous," So admits. "I couldn't help but wonder, 'where did he come from?'"

Indeed, So had met him the Ukrainian on a previous occasion - when Pavlikovsky was still an unknown. So barely remembered the encounter.

"For him to improve in such a short amount of time, less than two years, that blew me away," So admits.

Pavlikovsky won gold medals in the 100m and 400m, So had to pin his final hope on the 200m sprint. Still, he was not 100 percent confident.

"He might have as well have smashed the 200m gold medal. I was terribly nervous until the moment I heard 'bang' and I ran. It proved to be rather smooth," So said, with a smile.

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.

So recalls that one of his most unforgettable moments of his athlete life was the 100m race because his idol Andy Lau was standing at the finish line watching him win the bronze medal.

"I had never imagined he would show up in the restricted area in the track," So says. "Perhaps the referees knew he was there to support me so they gave him a pass."

After the contest, So ran towards Lau. The two hugged. The cameramen captured the moment replayed it on the giant screen while spectators applauded and cheered.

So's passion for running never abates. "Nothing stops me from running except injuries," the Paralympian says. But he wishes to enjoy every contest without the burden of winning.

(HK Edition 06/15/2011 page4)