As a child Wu Jingyu was in the habit of running to school each morning so she could take a nap before classes began.

Little did she realize this habit would one day lead to a gold medal.

Wu, 21, who comes from a village in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, won the 49 kg category in taekwondo on Wednesday.

Like many children in her farming village, she had to get up at around 5 am each day for the two-hour walk to school.

To save time for a nap, she would run the distance in 30 minutes.

When the school was looking for potential athletes and asked who was the fastest runner, everyone singled out Wu. He career in athletics had begun.

After trying out as a sprinter and wrestler, Wu switched to taekwondo, her first coach, Wang Zhijie, said.

At the time she was only 1.4 m tall, not exactly an ideal candidate for taekwondo, he said.

However, Wu won her first competition, and she and Wang, caught the attention of the Jiangsu provincial sports center, where she was eventually transferred.

"She was always very obedient and respectful of her elders. During training, she listened and learned quickly," Wang was quoted by the Beijing Youth Daily, as saying

Wu's biggest wish is to return to her hometown to see her 82-year-old paralyzed grandmother.

Wu was brought up by her grandmother as her parents were away most of the time working in other cities.