Chinese teen sensation Shiwen's parents reveal 'tomboyish' side of champion daughter

London, Aug.3 (ANI): Sixteen-year old Chinese sensation Ye Shiwen, who has won two gold medals at the London Olympics at the age of 16, was often been turned away from female changing rooms because she was mistaken for a boy, reveals her father.

Shiwen's parents have revealed the tomboyish nature of their champion daughter, and how she achieved tremendous success through her grueling training sessions.

"Many times she has been turned away from the female changing rooms because she is mistaken for a boy. She likes to wear her hair short, to avoid as much as possible having to wear a swimming cap," The Daily Mail quoted Shiwen's father, Ye Qingsong, as saying.

Shiwen's parents boasted that even when she was a baby, their daughter was destined for greatness.

Qingsong said: "Her first cries were so loud and clear, I was convinced the baby must be a boy. But I was very pleased to have a girl."

Shiwen's grandmother Zhang Zhengyu, with whom she stayed for many years during her early years due to her parent's busy schedule, said: "She had the biggest hands and biggest feet of all the children, and that's why she's a strong swimmer. She does look like a boy, and she played like a boy too, always in the dirt and falling off her bike, but she never once cried."

Spreading out 61 of his daughter's swimming certificates on his table, Qingsong said she had won 50 medals before the age of ten.

"She is naturally talented. She grew up with her grandparents in a rural area where there was space to run around, and she had wide shoulders," he said.

"She had more of the character of a boy than a girl. She wasn't very delicate. When playing, she would fall down, but she wouldn't cry. She had great strength and huge hands, even for a child. By the age of six or seven, she could do 20 pull-ups," he added. (ANI)