Bian Jianxin was pushed in wheelchair by her coach Li Weipu (Photo by CHEN RAN)

"The first impression that Li Weipu gave me was friendly and approachable, which was far from my impression of a coach," Bian Jianxin, a three-time Paralympic gold medalist in women's powerlifting told Beijing Review.

Born in 1955 in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Li trained as a professional marathon runner and later a weightlifter. He participated in several competitions at local and national level and then opened a small gym after retiring.

It was not until 1988 that Li came to realize that powerlifting, a common fitness program in gyms for strengthening chest muscles, was a listed medal sport in the Paralympic Games.

"I watched the TV and saw the match. I was so happy to see it, because I was good at fitness training," Li, coach of the Chinese disabled powerlifting team, smiled. "If I were there, I would win the gold medal for sure."

In 1990, Luo Zhiqiang, a disabled boy came to visit Li, asking for help.

"I was the only person in our city who was a former weightlifter. Luo asked me whether he could become my student and prepare for the national competition with my help," said Li.

"My answer was no, because I did not want to and never thought of getting involved in disabled sports. I rejected him twice. Upon his third visit, I was moved by his never-give-up attitude, so I said ‘OK, I'll be your coach and let's see what will happen'," he continued.

In 1993, the part-time athlete Luo won a gold medal in the World Modern Pentathlon Games for the Disabled in England. Li's attitude took a reverse change right at the victory ceremony.

"It was the first time I was proud of myself because my student became a world champion! It was amazing. So I said to myself why not keep on coaching," Li stated.

In the same year, Li met with Bian Jianxin.

"Her colleague introduced her to me. I was not biased towards disabled people, but frankly speaking, in my mind few of them were smart. Bian was an exception," said Li. "The first time I saw her, a girl of not even 20-years old, I had a feeling that she would become a world champion one day because of her cleverness."

"There is a common misunderstanding that the stronger one's arms, the bigger his/her strength. The truth is that smartness, together with good physical and mental conditions, plays a vital role in powerlifting. In other words, a smarter person could probably lift a heavier weight with minimum strength," Li explained further.

"I've been working in powerlifting for 18 years. Besides Bian, only a few athletes have smartness," he added.

Bian started training part-time with Li. She had to work in the day, and wouldn't leave the training hall until 10 p.m. Her bodyweight was only 40 kg at the time but the daily training load was 20,000 kg.

In March 1994, Bian made a stunning debut at the World Weightlifting Championships in Melbourne, winning a gold medal in the 40kg category and bettering the world record. Subsequently she bagged several domestic and international titles, including the Far East and South Pacific Games for the Disabled.

In 1996, Li participated in the Paralympic Games in Atlanta, the United States, for the first time as a coach. Luo won the gold medal, which helped ensure the Chinese team ranked top in the men's team competition. Li cried for joy in Luo's arms.

During the night after the daily review meeting, Li wandered the Paralympic village tirelessly from 11 p.m. until 5 a.m. the next morning.

"I was so excited that I could hardly find a word to describe my feelings. It seemed as if all the hard work in training and life was just like a movie showing in my mind," Li noted.

Bian became Li's second student to win a Paralympic gold medal after Luo's retirement.

In 2000, women's powerlifting was listed as a medal sport in the Sydney Games for the first time in Paralympics history. Bian won in the 40-kg category with a third-attempt lift, setting a new world record weight of 102.5 kg and becoming the first woman in China to win a Paralympic gold medal for powerlifting.

In 2004, Bian then went on to win the women's 48-kg powerlifting gold medal at the Athens Paralympics and bettered her own world record of 117.5 kg, surpassing the existing mark by 7 kg.

This time in Beijing, the 34-year old managed to create a new world record in the women's 60-kg category to 135 kg, one kg higher than the previous mark.

After the match, she held her coach Li tight with tears of joy.

"My coach is a great and sincere person, just as his name Wei (great) and Pu (sincere) sounds. In early years, he would carry me on his back whenever we got on and off the train on our way to various competitions. I was afraid of becoming his burden but he always encouraged me so that I could focus on competitions. Moreover, he made tonic food for us everyday during the preparation for the Beijing Paralympics," she said.

"I am blessed to have him by my side. I said to myself that I would compete as best as I can to reward Li, who has changed my life," she continued.

The 16-member Chinese powerlifting team has won 9 gold medals, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals at the Beijing Paralympic Games; among others, Li's students took 5 gold.

"Powerlifting is the only sport where disabled athletes can compete with the healthy athletes; some of them can even create a better result than their able-bodied peers in the same bodyweight category," said Li.

"I dare to say that I am the best coach in fitness and strength training, for I've been working and researching it for at least 18 years. To be honest, I had chances to give up, change to another job or even work overseas, but I chose to stay. Each time when I return home, I miss my athletes," he continued.

"I had good times with them, although we had tiffs and quarrels during training sessions. The feeling they gave me is that we are a family," he added.