She then applied for a postgraduate program in international management at the University of Southampton in England.

Although she enjoyed life as a college student, the desire to sail again and the inspiring story of Brazil's six-time Olympian sailor Robert Scheidt prompted her to make a comeback.

While the challenge of recovering her fitness and striking a balance between Olympic preparations and postgraduate studies proved a difficult task, Xu had long since become accustomed to overcoming adversity.

Born with vision and hearing impairments, Xu, who originally trained as a swimmer, launched her sailing career in an optimist class boat in 1997 and won consecutive world titles in 2001 and 2002.

She was diagnosed with a leg tumor in 2002, and surgery to remove it dashed her hopes of competing in what would have been her first Olympics, the 2004 Athens Games.

After a lengthy recovery, Xu's strength and fitness improved enough for her to claim the bronze medal in laser radial in front of a home crowd at the 2008 Beijing Games before making Chinese sailing history by claiming gold in London.

"Sailing has taught me so many of life's lessons, such as courage, teamwork and caring for the environment," she said.

"After these Games are over, I would love to share those valuable lessons with more people."

Xu said her goal is to introduce the training program used by Britain's Royal Yachting Association to Chinese clubs and to ultimately serve as a liaison between sailing organizations in the two countries after she returns to Southampton in September to complete her studies.