Zheng Tao (, born 25 December 1990) is a Chinese para

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

and five-time Paralympic champion. He is known as the "armless swimmer". He made a world record by winning 4 gold medals in Tokyo 2020 Paralympic.

Early life

Zheng lost his arms due to an electric shock when he was a child.

Swimming career

In 2004 Zheng took up the sport of Swimming and in 2010 he made his international swimming debut when Zheng represented China at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Eindhoven Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Zheng competed in his first Paralympic Games at the 2012 London Paralympics, where he won the gold medal in a close race in the 100m backstroke S6 final. At the

2016 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 159 , athletes = 4,342 , opening = 7 September , closing = 18 September , opened_by = President Michel Temer , cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva , events = 528 in 22 sports , stadium = Maracanã , sum ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, he suffered a lower back injury but still won the gold medal at the Men's 100 metre backstroke S6 event with a

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

of 1:10.84, two seconds faster than the previous record, which was established by himself in 2015. He then caught the stomach flu on the day of the 50-metre butterfly S6 final, and lost to his teammate

Xu Qing Xu Qing (; born 22 January 1969), known also as Summer Qing, is a Chinese actress. She was accepted into the acting class of Beijing Film Academy in 1988 and graduated in 1992. Career Xu made her debut in the 1990 film '' Life on a String'', ...

, winning a silver medal in the event. At the

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralym ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, he won the gold medal at the Men's Butterfly S5 event with a

of 30.62, the gold medal at the Men's Backstroke S5 event with a

of 31.42 and the gold medal at the 50m Freestyle S5. He also won the gold medal at the Mixed 4x50m Freestyle Relay - 20 Points.

References

External links

* 1990 births Living people Paralympic gold medalists for China Paralympic swimmers of China Chinese male backstroke swimmers Chinese male butterfly swimmers Chinese male medley swimmers Chinese male freestyle swimmers S6-classified Paralympic swimmers Paralympic bronze medalists for China Paralympic medalists in swimming Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Sportspeople with limb difference Chinese amputees 21st-century Chinese people {{PRChina-swimming-bio-stub