Autism sufferer Tu Juo-lin (屠若琳) finally got her wish to see President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) at the Presidential Office yesterday after winning six gold and one silver medals in an international swimming competition.
Tu, 15, won six gold medals in the women's 50m, 100m and 200m butterfly events and the 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle at the 4th International Federation of Sport for People with an Intellectual Disability Swimming World Championships held in Liberec, Czech Republic last September.
She broke the world record for the 200m butterfly and also won one silver medal in the women's 400m individual medley.
PHOTO: CNA
Chen congratulated Tu and five other members of the Taiwan International Handicapped Swimming Association.
"Coach Chen [Loon-chong (
Tu's coach Chen told the Taipei Times that he began teaching Tu swimming in November 2000 and that Tu hasn't missed a single class.
"I remember when her mother first brought her here, she didn't talk to anyone. She refused to listen to me or play with others," he said. "Now she's a completely different person."
It took Tu about three months to begin learning.
She won her first medal in international competitions in January 2004 and won two silvers in the 100m and 200m butterfly in the 3rd Swimming World Championships in Hong Kong.
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