Broke marathoner mulls selling medals

A former marathon champion said Monday she is considering selling her 16 medals to help lift her out of poverty.

Guo Ping, 31, recently received free surgery and medical care from the privately-owned Beijing Mary's Orthopedic Hospital.

The hospital offered her the surgery, which normally costs over 70,000 yuan ($ 11,000), after noticing her story in one of the many media reports about her since she sued her former coach Wang Dexian in 2006 for negligently training her, allegedly leading to her long-term injuries.

Wang agreed to give her 100,000 yuan in compensation in an out-of-court settlement. Before the surgery, Guo Ping said she could not stand or walk properly, and therefore was not able to find any job.

"I even thought about committing suicide to release the burden on my family," she said.

"I don't know how much money I could get for each medal if I sell them," she said.

Wang Zhengyi, the vice president of the hospital, said that Guo was diagnosed with bunions, a disease that deforms the toes, sometimes as a result of running with bad technique.

"In Guo's case, her bone was probably injured by excessive training at very young age while her body was still growing," he said.

Guo, 31, participated in a variety of championships, including the International Marathon in Japan in 1998, during which she won the silver medal. Guo quit her athlete career for medical treatment in 2002.

Yet even then, she still had a little idea about the severity of her sickness. "Because my family has been poor, I could not afford to see doctors and my sickness was postponed for a decade till now," she explained.

Guo said that she did not graduate from primary school because of the training.

"My husband works as a coal worker in Heilongjiang Province, earning around 1,000 yuan per month, which is all the income of my family," the former marathoner said.

According to Wang, it will only take a few months of rest before she could walk again.

"Until then, she's an inpatient in our hospital for free," he said.

Guo said that she was thankful for the free treatment and is thinking about opening a small restaurant with her husband back in Heilongjiang Province

But Guo said,"I may still sell [the medals] even after this treatment since we need to live."