Before Hong Kong Olympian Cheung Ka-long came So Wa-wai, the retired sprinter with six Paralympic gold medals who inspired the new biopic, Zero to Hero

Aug 25 , 2021

So Wa-wai, Hong Kong’s six-time Paralympic gold medallist. Photo: 國際獅子總會中國港澳303區 - 獅子會姊妹學校計劃/Facebook

Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games

Nicknamed ‘the magic kid’, So took home his first Paralympic gold at age 15 – just two weeks after legendary windsurfer Lee Lai-shan’s win

Pals with Canto-pop star Andy Lau and the subject of a film starring Sandra Ng, So’s legacy is sure to be felt during the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games today

Foil fencer Edgar Cheung Ka-long’s victory at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games caused a citywide uproar in his hometown of Hong Kong. Many Hongkongers thought Cheung had secured the city’s second gold medal after windsurfer Lee Lai-shan won the first at the Atlanta 1996 Games – almost 25 years ago!

So Wa-wai celebrates after winning the final of the men’s 200 metre T36 classification event at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games. Photo: AFP

But the city had already claimed six golds in the Paralympic Games thanks to 40-year-old runner So Wa-wai, nicknamed “the magic kid”, whose journey to athletic glory was recently portrayed in the 2021 biopic Zero to Hero starring Louis Cheung, Sandra Ng and Leung Chung-hang. Released earlier this month, the tear-jerking comedy is the drumroll for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games that started on August 24.

Zero to Hero, the biopic of So Wa-wai’s life has been gaining popularity in Hong Kong. Photo: @stage.thesky/Instagram

Born with jaundice that affected his hearing and the balance of his limbs, So was selected to compete in the Paralympic T36 classification for athletes with cerebral palsy, and, at the age of 15, took home his first gold in the men’s T35-38 4x100 relay race at the Atlanta 1996 Paralympic Games.

Though his victory took place just two weeks after Lee’s claim to gold in the same year, his airtime and prize money of US$38,500 (HK$300,000) was far from what the able-bodied windsurfer received, who was awarded an amount 10 times higher.

So Wa-wai was chosen to be part of the torch relay in Hong Kong. Photo: So Wa Wai/Facebook

“My only memory was of Coca-Cola, which sponsored the event,” So once told HK Magazine about the 1996 Paralympic Games. “We had a free and unlimited supply of the drink. I spent most of my time drinking Coca-Cola: so much that my coach reprimanded me!”