Zhou Guohua

Zhou Guohua (born 10 October 1990) is a visually impaired Paralympian athlete from China competing mainly in T12 classification sprint events.[1] In London in 2012 she became the T12 record holder at 100m.

Zhou Guohua
Zhou of China and her guide Jie Li in 2012
Personal information
NationalityChinese
Born (1990-10-10) 10 October 1990
Ulanqab
Height165 cm (5 ft 5 in)
Sport
CountryChina
SportAthletics
Disability classT12
ClubGuangdong Province
Coached byHu Zhengguan
Medal record
Paralympic athletics
Representing  China
Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2012 London 100 m – T12
Gold medal – first place2016 Rio4 × 100 m – T11–13
Silver medal – second place 2012 London 200 m – T12
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Rio de Janeiro 200 m – T12
IPC World Championships
Gold medal – first place2013 Lyon100 m – T12
Gold medal – first place2015 Doha100 m relay – T11–13
Bronze medal – third place2023 ParisLong jump T11
Asian Para Games
Gold medal – first place2014 Incheon100 m – T12
Gold medal – first place2014 Incheon4 × 100 m relay – T11–13
Silver medal – second place2014 Incheon400 m – T11/12

Life

Zhou was born in Ulanqab in Inner Mongolia in 1990 with poor eyesight. She was discovered in Dongguan in 2009 where she was working as a masseuse. Luo Jinhui from the local disable association identified her athletic stature and suggested she could make a better living as an athlete. By 2011 she was able to become a professional after taking medals at the national paragames. She did not compete a lot in international events until just before the 2012 Paralympics where she took two gold medals in Croatia at 100 and 200 metres.[2]

Zhou won two medals at her first Summer Paralympics, the 2012 London Games, including the gold medal in the women's 100m sprint. Here she set a new world record of 12.05 seconds in the T12 event. The time was so quick that this would place her in the top women in the world irrespective of her disability.[2] She is also a World Championships and Asian Games medalists, winning five medals over four tournaments.[3] At the 2014 Asian Para Games she set an Asian record in the 400m T12 sprint with a time of 58.45.[4]

Notes
  1. "Zhou Guohua". paralympic.org. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  2. Zhou Guohua: Setting New World Record at London Paralympics, 20 September 2012, WomenofChina, Retrieved 22 August 2016
  3. "Zhou Guohua". IPC. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  4. "IPC 2016 Athletics Asia-Oceania Championships: Women's 400M T12" (PDF). 8 March 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
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