Groom Yang Haibin dries happy tears from his bride Feng Ying at the wedding ceremony. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The unlikely Olympian

Sichuan in stitches

Many cameras were waiting for her arrival. Feng smiled happily.

The couple appreciates the many warm-hearted people who helped them by providing free makeup, photography, the hotel and wedding ceremony service. One person even provided their own Mercedes-Benz to serve the couple.

An elderly man surnamed Zhang came from a nearby county, saying he was moved by their love story on TV, and wanted to encourage the brave girl.

"This girl is so smart. We hope she can defeat her disease and have a long, long happy life," Zhang says.

The young couple got a marriage registration on Sept 23, 2013, but they didn't plan a wedding immediately. They had to save money for medical bills, Yang says.

Yang works in a local post office and earns only 3,000 yuan ($488) a month.

Feng is the second of the three daughters in the family and her twin sister, the youngest, was born deaf. The family makes a living by selling bean sprouts in the market, but Feng's treatment has cost some 200,000 yuan, and they have had to borrow money from relatives and friends.

Feng was diagnosed with glioma and had an operation in 2011, but the tumor recurred in 2013.

"We didn't know what to do then, but Yingying said she did not mourn for her life," says her mother Cheng Liuzhi, 57. "She even told us she wanted to donate her corneas and kidney to those in need after learning of her relapse.

"She persuaded us to agree to her wishes at that time and said we could 'see her again' by seeing the recipient."

It was about this time that Yang came into Feng's life.