Photos show the life and training of 69-year-old double amputee Xia Boyu. A soccer player before he joined the Chinese Mountaineering Team in 1974, Xia lost his legs due to frostbite during a mission a year later to climb Qomolangma, known in the West as Mount Everest. But the sports enthusiast never gave up his passion for breaking physical limits and his biggest dream of reaching the world’s highest peak. Since the 1980s, Xiao has participated the National Games for the Disabled for four times and other sports games at city or regional levels, winning numerous awards in javelin throwing, shot put, wheelchair basketball and table tennis. Due to continuous heavy training, the wounds on Xia's legs could not heal, and he was diagnosed with lymph cancer in 1996. But he continued training, winning two titles in the paralyzed group at the IFSC Climbing World Championships Arco 2011 in Italy. Xia tried for the fourth time to reach the top of Qomolangma in 2016, but a snowstorm forced him to retreat when he was just 94 meters from the top. He considers that his biggest regret. But Xia will not give up. "I am set to conquer Qomolangma,” he said, calling it discrimination when the Nepalese government introduced new rules to ban double amputees from climbing the peak. “The disabled can also climb a mountain and conquer new heights,” said Xia. Today, he continues to train hard, including cycling 30 kilometers a day. (Photo/VCG)
