MILAN, March 11 (Xinhua) -- As a child, Liu Zixu did not like having his photo taken.
A car accident had taken the use of his legs, and for a long time afterwards, he preferred to stay away from the camera lens. Yet in the photos taken after Sunday's biathlon and para cross-country skiing races, the 28-year-old Chinese athlete wore a confident, relaxed smile for photos.
At the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Paralympics, Liu captured gold in the men's 12.5km sitting biathlon on Sunday, finishing in 34 minutes 38.1 seconds. With the victory, he became the first Chinese biathlon athlete to win gold at two consecutive Winter Paralympics.
On Tuesday, Liu added his second gold at Milan-Cortina 2026, marking the first Chinese athlete who bagged golds in two big events of the major event.
The road to that smile was neither short, nor free of pressure.
Suffering both mental and physical hardship after the childhood accident, Liu's life began to change in 2013 when he joined a para-archery team in northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Four years of training not only honed his shooting skills but also helped him develop the calm mindset required for competition.
Later, he made another bold decision, switching to winter sports and becoming a cross-event athlete.
In the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics, Liu made history by winning China's first gold medal of the Games. It was also the country's first gold in a snow event and its first individual gold medal in Winter Paralympic history.
Short-distance races are among Liu Zixu's strengths, particularly when his shooting is steady. He arrived at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Paralympics carrying expectations of repeating the feat he achieved four years earlier in Beijing.
However, he entered the Games dealing with a recurrence of an old shoulder injury as well as symptoms of a cold.
During Saturday's men's 7.5km sitting biathlon race, Liu said he felt strong at the start but began to lose strength from the second lap onward.
"I was pushing forward purely on willpower," he said. He eventually secured the bronze medal but fell short of defending his title.
Although he felt some regret, Liu said he was satisfied with the result, and his family offered strong support through video calls.
"They told me that winning bronze while dealing with injury and illness was already very good," Liu said. "They asked me to forget about the race and focus entirely on the next competition."
On Sunday, Liu was running third before entering the third shooting stage, but surged into the lead after suffering no shooting penalty in the stage.
He then extended his advantage on the course and avoided any penalty loop in the final shooting to secure the gold.
He credited the team's preparations for the performance, including high-altitude training in Inner Mongolia at around 1,800 meters before the Games. The team also worked with two foreign ski technicians who adjusted waxing according to changing snow temperatures and conditions.
In men's sprint sitting, Liu was eliminated from the event in the semifinal round. However, he qualified for the final round due to his opponent's foul in the semis.
In the final, he clocked two minutes and 28.9 seconds, making the hottest title contender, Cristian Westemaier Ribera of Brazil, trail by 0.7 seconds.
"I don't even have time for adjusting my mindset, it's like riding a roller coaster and the result is so amazing," Liu told Xinhua.
Now, although owning three Winter Paralympic golds, Liu said he still approaches each race as a chance to learn.
"I always learn from my opponents and teammates," he said. "In every race, I push my limits and do better than last time." ■
