So Wa Wai

So Wa Wai

Personal information
Born	(1981-10-06) 6 October 1981 (age 35)
Sport
Country	Hong Kong
Sport	Athletics
Medal record Men's paralympic athletics Representing  Hong Kong Paralympic Games 1996 Atlanta 4×100 m T34-37 2000 Sydney 100 m T36 2000 Sydney 200 m T36 2000 Sydney 400 m T36 2004 Athens 200 m T36 2008 Beijing 200 m T36 2004 Athens 100 m T36 2004 Athens 400 m T36 2012 London 200 m T36 2000 Sydney 4×100 m T38 2000 Sydney 4×400 m T38 2008 Beijing 100 m T36 IPC World Championships 2011 Christchurch 100 m T36 2013 Lyon 200 m T36

So Wa Wai (Chinese: 蘇樺偉; Jyutping: so¹ waa⁴ wai⁵; born October 6, 1981) is a retired athlete from Hong Kong who has competed in the Paralympic Games on four occasions, winning 11 medals.

So was born with jaundice which affected both his hearing and the balance of his limbs, and hence competes in the T36 classification for athletes with cerebral palsy. At the age of 10, his enthusiasm for running was noticed by athletics coach Poon Kin-lui, who then began to formally train So.

His first Paralympic appearance came at the 1996 games in Atlanta, where he won a gold medal as part of the men's 4×100 m relay team in the T34-37 classification.

Over the course of the next two summer Paralympic Games, 2000 in Sydney and 2004 in Athens, So won four gold and two silver medals in a range of individual events, up to a distance of 400 m, as well as two bronze medals in relay events.

In 2008 So was chosen to be part of the torch relay as the Olympic flame passed through Hong Kong on its way to Beijing. However, his participation in the games themselves was put into doubt when an injury to his father rendered him unable to work. So was forced to give up his training and take up a full-time job to support his family. Help with his situation came from Andy Lau, a Hong Kong entertainer and the singer of the Beijing Paralympic Games official theme song "Flying with the Dream", who gave him a full-time job with the flexibility to allow him to train for the Games.

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Wikipedia