A silent power – Wang Shi-wei transcends his hearing impediment

Winner of a double gold in the men's two hundred and four hundred meters relay at the 8th Asia Pacific Deaf Games in Taoyuan in 2015, Wang Shi-wei, was born with a hearing impairment. In addition to being almost deaf in both ears, in his youth he was of frail constitution and plagued with illness. It was not until winning first place at a track and field competition at elementary school that he began looking to participate in the school’s track and field team. In fifth grade at elementary school, he began receiving formal training in track and field, and the sport started to change his life.

Because of his congenital hearing impairment, Wang Shi-wei’s training was inevitably affected. Wang Shi-wei said: “When I began my training, I couldn’t clearly hear the sound of the starting pistol, and so it was difficult to get off to a good start”. Wang Shi-wei’s coach assists such athletes by waving a flag, which helps them to improve their timing and get off to a better start. But when all is said and done, athletes really need to rely own their own hard work and diligent practice to overcome such difficulties.

Unfortunately, just as Wang Shi-wei began advancing by leaps and bounds and performing at his peak, he sustained a sudden injury, setting everything back to square one and forcing him to begin training from scratch again. Although the road to rehabilitation is long and hard, Wang Shi-wei grit his teeth and pushed on, winning silver in the men’s 100 meters and a double gold in the men's two hundred and four hundred meters relay at the 8th Asia Pacific Deaf Games in Taoyuan in 2015. 

With regard to his achievements, Wang Shi-wei greatly thanks his father and mother for their wholehearted support along the way. Wang Shi-wei is currently studying for a master’s degree, and hopes to have the opportunity of becoming a coach in the future, thereby allowing him to help other athletes.

A silent power – Wang Shi-wei transcends his hearing impediment

URL：https://www.peopo.org/news/300819

(以下是中文對照)

安靜的力量 王世偉超越聽覺障礙

2015年桃園亞太聽障運動會奪得男子組二百公尺和四百接力雙料金牌的王世偉，一出生就患有聽覺障礙，雙耳幾乎全聾，再加上從小體弱多病，直到國小參加田徑比賽得到第一名後，他被找去參加學校的田徑隊，在國小五年級這年，開始接受正式的田徑訓練，而這項運動也改變了他往後的人生。

因為先天的聽覺障礙，使他在接受田徑訓練難免會受到影響。王世偉說，「剛開始訓練時，總是因為聽不清楚鳴槍的聲響，而抓不到起跑的時機。」但教練在訓練時會用揮旗來幫助選手抓到起跑的時機，最終，選手還是只能靠比一般人更多的努力和不斷地練習來克服。

王世偉也曾經在他成績突飛猛進的高峰期時，突然受傷，讓一切回到了原點，所有訓練都要從頭來過。儘管復健之路辛苦，但他咬著牙撐了過去，使他再一次破繭而出，奪下2015年桃園亞太聽障運動會男子組一百公尺銀牌、二百公尺和四百接力雙料金牌。

能有今天的成績，王世偉最想感謝的就是爸爸、媽媽一路以來全心全力的支持。現在正在準備考研究所的他，希望未來有機會成為一名教練，幫助更多的選手。