The Beijing Paralympics ended successfully on last September 17 in the trail of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The Paralympics are the international sports event which the disabled participate in. Kim Im-yeon won a silver medal at shooting match in this Paralympics and came back to Korea. She set a new world record at the 10m shooting getting 399 points out of 400 points. Moreover, she is the Asian representative player who is acting as a chairlady of the Asia Paralympic Committee (APC). She is the most successful female medalist in Korea and makes a constant effort for her goal. Let’s listen to her stories.  -Ed.

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A Seed is planted
It was hard for her to walk by herself because she suffered from poliomyelitis and damaged motor neurons when she was 4 years old. Thanks to her family and friends who loved and helped her, she could walk and adapt to society early. “I swam at the swimming pool to cure my damaged legs in my childhood. It was hard for me to disregard other people’s gazes while I was swimming. I zealously swam and tried to live by disregarding other’s gazes, so I walk fairly and squarely now because I have to live together and acknowledge differences.”
Although she had a hard past, she still has a lovely and girlish look. She said that she enjoyed her life and tried to make her days pleasant. She added, “Because I enjoy my life, my look is comfortable. Suffering pain in my childhood, I join in the laughter now.”
 
A tree which doesn’t fall down
She doesn’t always proceed without a hitch in shooting. We have to encourage warmly and clap to players who don’t win the gold medals, but the actual circumstances aren’t exactly the same as that. Not satisfying the expectations of other people, she received the rebukes at first instead of warm encouragements. Athletes have troubles due to a sense of duty which satisfies other’s expectations more than physical hardness. She recalled the past and said, “I won the silver medal at the Athens Paralympics, but I tried to quit shooting because I was stressed from people’s expectations and rebukes. However, the coaches believed in and gave me courage to continue shooting. Finally, I restarted shooting. If the coaches hadn’t believed in me and prevented me from leaving, I would not be here now.” Because she got over the slumps, she can be splendid now.
 
A New challenge
She said, “I know no limits now. Whenever I shoot the gun into a target, I can exceed the limit and set a new record again.” She always challenges towards goals.
She challenged the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) in this Paralympics and was defeated in the election sadly though many people supported her. She obtained many precious things while she readied to be an IPA member although she missed the gold medal. She let Korean athletes know the existence of the IPA and carried out the role of guide for junior athletes well.
She never quits IPA, and she is preparing for the challenge of the next IPA again. There is no denying that Kim Im-yeon matches most closely with the saying “Take a risk. The victory is yours, and the failure makes you wise.”
 
Let’s do our best rather than be the best
Kim Im-yeon knows no fear about challenges. A challenging life makes her more gorgeous. As a crack shot who set a new world record, the mother of her baby, a student who completed her bachelor’s degree and is ready to study for her Ph.D., and a chairlady of the APC, she is playing various roles at the same time. How can she manage with lots of work even though she is playing various roles perfectly simultaneously?
‘Let’s do our best rather than be the best’ is always carved in her heart. She said, “It was natural for me to win first place because I won first place many times. However, this notion worried me, and it was hard to acknowledge myself. When I do my best, I can take the victory.”
She emphasized that students have to have a goal, which is the most important thing in life, and the will to do their work. When the exact motto is set, you can decide what you have to do, so the time spent in vain will be decreased.