| Zheng Tao | |
| Nickname: | armless swimmer |
| Birth Date: | 26 December 1990 |
| Birth Place: | Kunming City, China |
| Spouse: | Yang Meili |
| Other Interests: | Fishing |
| Sport: | Swimming |
| Disability: | Limb deficiency (Acquired) |
| Disability Class: | S5/SB6/SM5 |
| Club: | Yunnan Province [Kunming, CHN] |
| Coach: | Zhang, Honghu |
| Show-Medals: | yes |
Zheng Tao (born 26 December 1990) is a Chinese para swimmer and five-time Paralympic champion. He is known as the "armless swimmer".[1] He made a world record by winning 4 gold medals in Tokyo 2020 Paralympic.
Zheng lost his arms due to an electric shock when he was a child.[2]
In 2004 Zheng took up the sport of Swimming and in 2010 he made his international swimming debut when Zheng represented China at the World Championships in Eindhoven, Netherlands.[2]
Zheng competed in his first Paralympic Games at the 2012 London Paralympics, where he won the gold medal in a close race in the 100m backstroke S6 final.
At the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, he suffered a lower back injury but still won the gold medal at the Men's 100 metre backstroke S6 event with a world record of 1:10.84, two seconds faster than the previous record, which was established by himself in 2015. He then caught the stomach flu on the day of the 50-metre butterfly S6 final, and lost to his teammate Xu Qing, winning a silver medal in the event.
At the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, he won the gold medal at the Men's Butterfly S5 event with a world record of 30.62, the gold medal at the Men's Backstroke S5 event with a world record of 31.42 and the gold medal at the 50m Freestyle S5. He also won the gold medal at the Mixed 4x50m Freestyle Relay - 20 Points.