KEY POINTS:
Sophie Pascoe does not remember the accident that took her leg, but she considers it the best thing that ever happened to her.
If her mangled left leg had not been amputated below the knee after getting caught in the path of a ride-on lawnmower, the 15-year-old would not have been inspired by her struggles against able-bodied rivals in the swimming pool.
And she would not have made it to Beijing, where New Zealand's youngest Paralympian is now on top of the world after winning three golds and a silver medal for her country.
"I lost [the leg] at 2, so I don't know any different. I was treated as a normal person. And I can't ask for much more - I am here at the Paralympics ... and I'm having the most wonderful time of my life," the Christchurch schoolgirl told the Herald from Beijing.
"To come here and race five races and come away with medals in four events ... I'm overwhelmed. I'm blown away with myself."
Her decisive victories in the pool - all swiftly followed by drug tests - have been all the sweeter with her mother, father and sister there at poolside to celebrate with her.
"It makes you feel like the pool is yours when you have your family there. You walk up to them and see them crying ... and you know they are proud of you."
Sophie's mother, Jo Pascoe, told the Herald she could still hardly believe what Sophie had achieved.
It had been a long journey from Sophie's accident, which Mrs Pascoe and her husband Gary will never forget.
Mrs Pascoe recalls her husband being on the mower, and Sophie suddenly running up behind it where her father could not see her.
"It was very traumatic. It was hard for Gary as well - he's got to live with that every day. But Sophie doesn't know any different. If that never happened, she wouldn't be where she is today."
Sophie dedicated her first medal to her beloved grandfather, who died five years ago.
"Before he passed away, I said 'I'm going to go to the Beijing Paralympics and win a gold medal for you'. And I achieved that on the second day. It's even better to know I have done this for him."
It was in primary school that the seeds of success were sown in Sophie. When she out-swam her able-bodied best friend she felt she might have something special.
Success in disabled sports was to follow, but it came with plenty of work.
In the lead-up to the Paralympics, Sophie was getting up each day about 5am to hit the pool before school, then returning to the pool after school for another hour or two of training.
While her age is also getting attention, she has never seen competing against women several years older than her as a big issue.
"Age doesn't matter. When you are standing up on those [starting] blocks, you are there to race ... and you have to give it all you have got."
Sophie strongly believes she deserves the same level of recognition as her able-bodied counterparts, and she feels that right now she is getting that, and more.
"I'm getting enough media already. It's all on me at the moment, and I haven't had that before."
Now that her Games are over, Sophie is looking forward to a holiday with her family.
She's also excited about reuniting with friends and fellow pupils at Canterbury's Lincoln High School, where a special celebration is being planned for her return next month.
Beyond that Sophie is looking towards the World Short-Course Championships and the the London Paralympics in 2012.
