Chinese swimmer, 15, aims to surpass US freestyler Katie Ledecky

Training became more and more intense, but Li never gave up the training.

"It's indeed tiring, but I don't want to go back, and I have to be a good swimmer," Li said in response to her father's suggestion that she can return home, if she feels tired.

At the first national youths sports meeting in 2015, Li, the youngest participant, won her first champion in the women's 400 meter freestyle.

The road to fame is a long and hard way to travel. And the young star failed in the qualifier for the Rio Olympics in 2016. Fortunately, the young freestyler overcame the setback and regained her confidence after participating in more competitions.

In 2016, Li won the gold medal at her Asian Championships debut, and in 2017, she got two gold medals and one silver at the national championships. It's notable that her score in the women's 400 meter freestyle is just 0.17 second slower than the Asian record.

The young swimmer now has two silver medals and one bronze from the 2017 FINA World Championships in Budapest. To prepare for the competitions, Li swam 14,000 meters to 15,000 meters every day and never complained.

"Everyone swims, so I can only work harder to get better results," said Li.

After the world championships, Li went on to prepare for the National Games, while other athletes while other athletes rested and recovered their energy and strength. Even during the Games, Li swims 14,000 meters each day.

The motive behind this might be Li's heart-felt dream to surpass brilliant US freestyler Katie Ledecky, challenge the world record and win a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Li won the Best Newcomer Award at the 2017 Laureus China Top 10 Athletes Awards held in Beijing on Dec 20.

Winning more honors in her sport are among her goals for 2018. "I hope I can win more gold medals and break my records in the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games," Li said.