"Some of my friends even called me 'lazy goat' when I was a kid. Even nowadays, I still believe that the faster you are in the pool, maybe you should be a little bit slower in life. You always need to slow down a little bit from time to time. Life should be relaxing," Qin added.

"And after all these years of ups and downs, my attitude toward swimming remains the same. It's my love, my passion and my life, so I will just keep swimming. And if I had a time machine to meet my five-year-old self, I would tell him to never easily give up, to think more and practice harder."

Now as an idol for China's next generation of swimmers, Qin hopes to inspire more young people to bravely chase their dreams in the pool.

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts. My name is Haiyang, which means ocean in Chinese," he said.

"However, when I was a kid, I was just like a little stream. Then I fought to become a river, and I'm fighting to become the ocean just like my name. I hope all the dream chasers can overcome the difficulties ahead of them, and always shine on a bigger stage."

Tracking Success delivers the inside story for global sports fans, exploring what makes elite performers tick, and providing insight into their biggest and most intriguing moments on and off the field of play.

shifutian@chinadaily.com.cn