(XINHUA)

Chinese athlete Xu Lijia, gold medalist in laser radial sailing, held China's national flag at the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games on August 12.

"This is the biggest inspiration for the sport of sailing," said Xu. "I feel very honored to be the flag-holder in the closing ceremony."

Xu won gold in the sailing regatta with a total score of 35 points on August 6, the second gold ever in Chinese Olympic sailing history. It was the second Olympic medal for Xu, who won the bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.The 25-year-old woman overcame great challenges on her journey to success. She was born nearly deaf in one ear and nearly blind in one eye. She started swimming at 4 and was chosen to train for sailing when she was 10.

In 1999, at the age of 12, Xu narrowly escaped death in a sudden storm while training on the open sea off the coast of southeast China's Fujian Province.