China embraces its 300th Paralympic gold

China embraced its 300th gold in Paralympic history here on Thursday, leading the London 2012 with 70 titles.

The 300th gold, which was also China's 68th gold in London and the eighth gold taken on Thursday, was clinched by amputee Zhao Xu in the men's 100m-T46 final.

Zhao Xu, 27, who began the sport in Grade 5 at school, refreshed the 100m-T46 Paralympic record in 11.05 seconds.

"The win is a breakthrough as China never got any medal in this event before," said Zhao after the race.

Zhao also got the silver in the men's 4x100m relay-T42/T46 at the London Paralympics.

He said, "I took part in the Beijing Paralympics but did not get a medal. From then on, I vowed to practise for another four years to triumph in London 2012. Today, I made it!"

Zhao lost the use of his arms at the age of eight when he was playing with his cousins. They came across a big metal box and they all wanted to climb onto it. Being the eldest in the group, Zhao climbed first. Just as he was reaching for it, he felt an enormous force rip through him, and only realized he had been badly electrocuted when he woke up in hospital.

"I was so timid at that time that I even dare not to take off my clothes, but my mother told me that you must be self-independent," Zhao said. "The sport helped me a lot and totally changed my life."

Zhao realized his potential in the sport when he won the 60m sprint organized by the rehabilitation center.

China made its Paralympic debut in New York 1984 and claimed only two titles. In Athens 2004, China topped the standings with 63 golds. In Beijing 2008, China swept 89 golds to defend its No. 1 position.

In the ongoing London 2012, China has collected 70 gold, 60 silver and 53 bronze medals to lead the tally so far, followed by host Britain with 31-39-38, and Russia 31-31-23.

Among the 10 gold medals taken by China on Thursday, the Day 8 of the London Olympics, six came from track and field, and one each from swimming, wheelchair fencing, shooting and road cycling.