An awkward moment happens after a medal presenter hangs the gold medal around the neck of Chinese Paralympic swimmer He Junquan.

Next comes up the flower presenter, who hands the bouquet to the champion and suddenly realizes what a big mistake he has made -- in the long sleeves of He's jacket there are no arms.

Silence befalls the swimming venue. Everyone feels embarrassed except the armless champion swimmer.

He stoops and inclines his head a bit, suggesting the presenter put the flowers under his jaw. When the presenter obliges, he uses his jaw to steady the bouquet on the shoulder and stands up, flashing a broad smile to the audience.

People on the stands go wild at once, giving a standing ovation to the true hero.

He Junquan has shaken off such an awkward moment in the Beijing Paralympics, just as he did it Athens four years ago.

The 30-year-old swimmer has taken part in three Paralympics since Sydney 2000. Beijing will be his swansong show. As a quadruple gold medalist in Athens four years ago, He failed to repeat the feat at home.

In his favorite 50m backstroke, He failed to defend title. With both arms amputated, He swooped down like a dolphin and touched the wall with his head.

But he was "outtouched" by Brazilian Daniel Dias, who has arms, by 0.15 seconds.

"I felt sorry for my supporters, I let them down," said a disappointed He.

He's first gold came in 4X50m freestyle last Thursday. His desperate spurt in the third leg propelled his teammates to victory.

"It's the power of unity. It's the teamwork fight. We have the same belief and we deserve the victory," said the exhausted He, with tears welling up in his bloodshot eyes. He had swum in two feats and a final on the same day before the relays.

Horrendous accident

He was almost killed in a morning of 1981 when the three-year-old boy climbed onto an electricity pole and touched the power transformer out of curiosity.

When he woke up, He found he was lying in the hospital surrounded by his parents and relatives.

"Dad, where are my arms? where are they?" He cried. His father didn't know how to comfort his son, shedding tears and sighing. "Son, you were hit by a jolt of electricity. If you don't move, your arms will grow soon."

Discharged from the hospital, He became very emotional. When his parents fed him with a spoon, He refused and fed himself by burying his head to the food.

In primary school, He sat in the back of classroom and learned to write with feet. When his classmates laughed at him, He head-butted or kicked at them. Once he kicked a boy who tried bully him to the pond.

In order to fend off teasing to his son, He's father dropped him off school and taught him to feed the ducks. He enjoyed these days very much. He could play with friends and swim in the pond.

In 1995, a sports official with the disabled-person association spotted He's swimming talent and put him on the Hubei team in central China.

Five years later, he made a Paralympic debut in Sydney, grabbing a set of medals.

Hard-won but happy marriage

In a June night, three months before the Beijing Paralympics, He and his wife Zhao Min walked on a quiet race track, sat down to lean on each other and looked up to the starry skies. Not far from them, their four-year-old son Diandian was writing Arabic numbers on the sand, chuckling to himself at times.

"I feel I'm the happiest woman now," Zhao, who hasn't seen her husband for more than one year, told a Hubei newspaper.

He and Zhao met in a hotspring resort in Yunnan province 2000, where He was training with the national team and Zhao was a waitress. When Zhao cleaned his room, she always helped He dry his towels and swimming suits. He was deeply impressed by the kind-hearted girl, but only dared to say a shy "Thanks you!" to her.

·China's Defending He Loses Gold, But Wins Respect