Chinese retiree who travelled on rickshaw to 3 Olympics dies

The retired Chinese farmer who made headlines for travelling across continents on his rickshaw has died in Argentina, reports say.

Chen Guanming, 61, was hit by a truck last week during the Latin America leg of his global tour, according to NBC.

Chen, a self-professed fan of the Olympic Games, had attended Rio 2016 - the third Games he pedalled to on his three-wheeled vehicle.

The first was Beijing 2008, to which he cycled 800km from his hometown of Xuzhou in Jiangsu province.

He then spent more than two years riding some 60,000km to London, in time for the 2012 Olympics.

He had planned to take his rickshaw to Tokyo 2020 in an expedition he previously said was aimed at promoting the "Olympic spirit".

Photos and videos of Chen's adventures, taken by both himself and his fans, were posted regularly on a Facebook fan page.

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/ChenGuamingrickshawride/posts/1308290495967238[/embed]

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/ChenGuamingrickshawride/videos/1250023188460636/[/embed]

Tributes have been pouring in since Chen's death was announced on the page last Friday (Oct 20).

There's also a fundraiser to bring his body back to China.

[embed]https://studio.brightcove.com/products/videocloud/media/videos/5622292531001[/embed]

huizhen@sph.com.sg