He Junquan was just three when he lost both his arms in a freak electrical accident, but his determination to overcome his disability and become a world-class swimming champion made this Chinese athlete an inspirational sports icon for many people around the world.
He regularly defeated many top-ranking swimmers, including able-bodied ones, but the problem was that the only way he could mark his finish and stop the chronometer on the pool wall was by hitting it with his head at the end of the race - something that often left him with neck injuries or severe headaches.
At the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, He, then 30, was surging ahead of his competitors and it appeared as though he was about to win the gold medal. But in the last few seconds as he approached the end, he slowed down intentionally to reduce the impact of his head crash on the chronometer. In those few split seconds Brazilian Daniel Dias, who was trailing him, hit the chronometer first with his outstretched hand, and claimed the gold medal. He was forced to remain content with silver at the final of the men's 200m individual medley.
Despite coming in second, his huge smile at the end of the race and the cheerful manner in which he congratulated Daniel made He the star of the day.
The spectators knew that he would have taken the gold medal if he'd only had an arm. When He was presented with a bouquet and his silver medal, he held the flowers between his jaw and his shoulder, then grinning, he bowed to the crowd who gave him thunderous applause.
Wise words
More than 70 years earlier, another great athlete, Carl Ludwig Long, had also come in second but not before setting a shining example in sportsmanship. It happened at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
Jesse Owen, a star athlete from the United States, was despondent. He had fouled his first two attempts at the long jump and feared crashing out of the games. As he prepared for his third and final jump, his German opponent Carl Long approached him to suggest that he could avoid another foul simply by jumping from another point a few inches further behind the line. Jesse took the advice and sailed into the next round. Jesse even went on to win the gold medal. Carl came in second place and was the first to congratulate Jesse.
These are just some of the inspirational stories Dublin-born, UK-based author and public speaker Paul Smith has included in his book Great Moments of Sportsmanship and Extraordinary Sports People.
The collection of real-life stories are a touching reminder that human qualities in athletes are still not lost.
Keen to educate children as well as adults about the importance of fair play and respect on the field and in the corporate world, Paul visits schools to present talks to students and conducts workshops for professionals in several parts of the world. "I am passionate about getting sportsmanship - honour, respect and fair play - back into sport,'' says Paul. He wrote his book after he saw a rugby player carried off the field on a stretcher following an inappropriate spear tackle - a dangerous tackle where a player lifts another player in the air and then drops him upside down - during a match between the British and Irish Lions Rugby union team and the New Zealand team in 2005.
"Worse than that was a few months later when I was watching a rugby game by boys under 14 in Dublin and saw the same kind of tackle being employed to get an opponent down. What the boys didn't perhaps realise was that the tackle could have resulted in a near fatal incident," Paul says. "That pushed me to do something that would have a positive impact on sports, children and society. So I started researching for stories that depict honour, respect and fair play in sports and life.''
The result of his work is a book depicting instances "where the joy of playing and respecting good competition is more important than winning or losing''.
One step further
Paul was pleasantly surprised when he started receiving letters of appreciation from people who read his book. "I did not expect it to become so popular,'' he says. In particular, teachers from around the world praised him for highlighting an important value for students and athletes.
The response encouraged Paul to take the message in his book a step further and founded the Great Sportsmanship Programme, a workshop and teaching package he uses to motivate children and adults to enjoy sport and embrace the values and spirit of good sportsmanship.
The programme encourages communities to embrace the six pillars of sportsmanship - honour, honesty, humility, friendship, fair play and respect. Paul believes these values are not just important for students, but also for adults in both their personal and professional lives.
Paul, who has also written five books on marketing, has started to take his fair play programme into corporate boardrooms around the world as well as in to classrooms and on to fields.
His method of teaching the values of sportsmanship during workshops include encouraging participants to come up with stories that reflect any of the six pillars of sportsmanship on and off the field. He then discusses the stories and helps people see how they can use these examples in their own lives.
"One thing that is often forgotten today during a tournament is enjoyment - have fun when playing a game,'' says Paul. "Also, give yourself a little extra push during a workout and training. And lastly, dedicate yourself to learning additional skills.''
Local contributions
Last December, Paul was overwhelmed by the response he received during a presentation at the Hamarain Centre in Deira. Members of the audience shared examples of sportsmanship on and off the field, and Paul promised many of them would be included in a new edition of his book.
One example shared that day was how, during the 1999 Cricket World Cup in England, Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar went on the field to bat even though he had just received the sad news that his father had died. After the match he flew to India to perform the last rites then returned to England to resume playing.
Analysing the story, Paul said, "It shows that Sachin is a true professional. It's another important facet in not just sports but even in your career. To succeed you should de-link your personal and your professional life.''
Paul was also a speaker at the World Healthcare Congress in Abu Dhabi last year where he discussed how his programme could help boost interest and participation in sport, which, in turn would improve the health of the people in the UAE.
The programme has already been introduced in a few schools in Ireland and the results have been hugely encouraging. Ross Brady, 14, a student at Trinity Comprehensive School in Dublin says he has been inspired by the story of the Chinese sportsman, He Junquan.
Ross says, "I like the story because in spite of his disability, he is better than most people at what he does. He never gave up. Even when he lost the first place he had a smile on his face.
"The book has inspired my life and has stopped me from becoming a sore loser or a cheater. The stories make me feel better about myself when I am playing sports."
Rokas Buika, 14, another student at Trinity Comprehensive School says he also enjoyed listening to Paul's talk.
"I think stories like the ones in this book make people think that the game is not all about winning. It's about making friends. I play for a basketball team and I am really proud of my club. Even though our team is not the best, we play as a team and enjoy ever bit of the sport," Rokas says.
Calling for respect
François Dumontel, Director at UAE Compare and an ambassador for the programme in the region says, "I met Paul when he visited UAE last year. After listening to him I immediately decided to dedicate a little bit of my time to the Great Sportsmanship Programme since I felt it was very much in line with my own idea of what life should be in and outside a stadium. All stories in the book have one thing in common: respect.
"It's good that someone collected these unforgettable moments of sports that have contributed to the value of healthy competition and integrity. Sportsmanship is a mixture of respect, fair play, friendship, honesty, humility, honour and ethics. At this time, and in this age when powerful messages can be channelled through social media, we should be heavily promoting a sportsman's attitude as the way forward. It's a responsibility among all of us and a necessity for the self-esteem of every athlete in any competition," says François.
"Ten years from now, I want the Great Sportsmanship Programme to be a big operation with a lot of people contributing,'' says Paul. "Part of the proceeds from the profits from the book are shared between two charities - Right to Play (www.righttoplay.com) and Clic Sargent (www.clicsargent.org.uk)."
"Right to Play is a humanitarian organisation that uses sport to help and educate people in war-torn countries and Clic Sargent supports children and young people with cancer," he says.
The sportsmanship stories are added by the author and also by the readers through the GPS blog and video clips of many of the stories can be viewed on the site as well. The Blog www.GreatSportsmanship.org has 68 two minute stories (in addition to the 75 stories in the book).
Facebook www.facebook.com/GreatSportsmanship has one new (one minute) sportsmanship story every day.
The book and the blog and the facebook page are part of The Great Sportsmanship Programme along with public speaking events, media relations and social media programme and an educational programme all aiming to mobilise whole communities into sportsmanship.
How you can get involved
Stories by the author and readers are posted on the Great Sportsmanship Programme's website (www.greatsportsmanship.org).
Video clips of many of the stories can be viewed on the site.
The programme's Facebook page offers readers a new inspirational story about sportsmanship each day.
The Great Sportsmanship Programme offers public speaking events, social media programmes and an educational programme for both students and professionals. All initiatives aim to mobilise communities into developing a strong sense of sportsmanship.