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The 35-year-old, who is paralyzed from the hip
down, recently became the first Chinese athlete to be nominated
for the Laureus World's Best Sporting Moment of the month after
he successfully scaled Lion Rock - a 495 meter tall (1624
feet)mountain which symbolizes a "Hong Kong spirit" of
persistence, resilience and unity.
The Laureus World Sports Award honors the best sportsmen and
sportswomen of the year, as well as sporting moments of the
month. The awards organization was founded by Swiss-based luxury
goods firm Richemont and German carmaker Daimler.
Lai lost the December award to a viral video which showed a
packed sports stadium of 70,000 people in Iowa turning and
waving to children in an adjacent hospital.
But he said he was surprised he was nominated to begin with, and
hoped his story could inspire Chinese people and athletes with
disabilities.
“To me climbing to the top was accomplishing a dream of mine,"
Lai said.
"It also - by climbing the mountain - meant that I could show to
my friends and supporters that I have overcome one of the lowest
points in life: even though I’m in a wheelchair I can challenge
other sports and still be able to do what I love most."
A four-time champion of the Asian Rock Climbing Championships
and the world’s first Chinese winner of the X-Game’s extreme
sports, Lai climbed up Lion Rock on December 9, 2016, upon the
5th anniversary of the car accident.
(Reporting by Pak Yiu; Writing by Pak Yiu and Venus Wu; Editing
by Simon Cameron-Moore)
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