Liu Xuan (gymnast)

Liu Xuan (simplified Chinese: 刘璇; traditional Chinese: 劉璇; pinyin: Liú Xuán; born August 12, 1979) is a former Chinese artistic gymnast. She competed in the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games and won two Olympic medals, including gold on the balance beam in 2000. She was born in Changsha, Hunan.

Liu Xuan
Country represented China
Born (1979-08-12) August 12, 1979
Changsha, Hunan, China
Spouse
Wang Tao
​
(m. 2013)​
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
Years on national team1994–2000 (CHN)
Eponymous skills"Liu Xuan" (uneven bars)
Retired2000
Medal record
Women's artistic gymnastics
Representing  China
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2000 SydneyBalance Beam
Bronze medal – third place2000 SydneyAll-Around
World Championships
Silver medal – second place1995 SabaeTeam
Bronze medal – third place1996 San JuanBalance Beam
Bronze medal – third place1997 LausanneTeam
World Cup Final
Gold medal – first place1998 SabaeBalance Beam
Bronze medal – third place1998 SabaeUneven Bars
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place1994 HiroshimaTeam
Gold medal – first place1998 BangkokTeam
Gold medal – first place1998 BangkokAll-Around
Gold medal – first place1998 BangkokBalance Beam
Silver medal – second place1994 HiroshimaUneven bars
National Games
Gold medal – first place1997 ShanghaiTeam
Gold medal – first place1997 ShanghaiBalance Beam
In this Chinese name, the family name is Liu.

Gymnastics career

Liu was coached by Guo Xinming and Zhang Zhen. She took up gymnastics with encouragement from her mother, who had to stop training when her gym closed during the Cultural Revolution. In fact, Liu's decision to continue training for another four years after a disappointing performance at the 1996 Olympics (where she failed to make the beam final because of a fall in the team competition) was partly to realize her mother's unfulfilled dream.

In 2000, Liu became China's first Olympic champion on balance beam, as well as its first all-around medalist in women's gymnastics. She also led the Chinese team to a third-place finish, but in 2010, their bronze medal was stripped by the International Olympic Committee and awarded to the United States instead after one of the Chinese team members, Dong Fangxiao, was found to have been underage during the competition.[1][2] In March 2012, the bronze medal Liu and her teammates won at the 1999 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships was forfeited to Ukraine for the same reason.[3]

Eponymous skill

Liu was the first female gymnast to perform a one-arm giant swing on the uneven bars; she also performed this skill into a Geinger release move. The skill is named after her in the Code of Points, but because it was considered too risky for women, it was given a low difficulty rating to discourage gymnasts from attempting it. As a result, Liu stopped performing it after the 1996 Olympics.

Apparatus Name Description Difficulty[lower-alpha 1]
Uneven barsLiuGiant circle backward to handstand on one armB

[4]

  1. Valid for the 2022-2024 Code of Points

Post-gymnastics career

At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Liu served as the on-site gymnastics reporter for Hong Kong broadcaster TVB.

In July 2009, she became a contracted actress for TVB.[5]

Personal life

Liu married her boyfriend, musician Wang Tao, in Happy Valley, Hong Kong in December 2013.[6] The couple have two children.

Results

Eponymous skills
ApparatusCodeNameDescriptionDifficulty
Uneven bars3.201Liu XuanGiant circle backward to handstand on one arm[8]B

Discography
Year Album title
2008Sweet on the Heart (甜上心頭)
2009Ready...Go! (出發)
2011Return Sight (回見)
18 February 2011Beautiful Faces

Filmography

Films
Year Title Role Co-stars
2002Far From HomeXi MeiXu Jinglei, Daniel Chan, Cui Lin
2010East Wind Rain
2012On My Way
2014I Am a Wolf

TV series
Year Title Network Role Notes
2002My Father and IMainlandGao Wenjun
2003Ultimate TargetMainlandLiu Jingyi
2004Phantom LoverMainlandTian Fei
2011Grace Under FireTVBMok Kwai-lanNominated — TVB Anniversary Award for My Favourite Female Character (Top 15)
2012Strangers 6
2018Legend of FuyaoMainlandFei Yan (非烟)

TV shows
Year Title Network Role
2005Light Blue, Dark BlueMainlandGuest
2006Wulin DahuiMainlandGuest
2007Mingsheng DazhenMainlandGuest
2010Go! EXPOTVBCo-host; 10 episodes

References
  1. Macur, Juliet (2010-04-28). "China Loses Women's Team Gymnastics Medal at 2000 Games". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-06-16.
  2. "China's gymnasts ordered to return Sydney Olympic bronze". The Guardian. 2010-04-29. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-06-16.
  3. Turner, Amanda. "China Hands Bronze from 1999 Worlds to Ukraine". International Gymnast Magazine Online. Retrieved 2017-06-16.
  4. "2022-2024 Code of Points Women's Artistic Gymnastics" (PDF). International Gymnastics Federation. p. 83, 207. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  5. Cheung, Kin (2011-05-09). "Olympic gold medalist switches to show business". USAToday.com. Retrieved 2017-06-16.
  6. "Gymnast Liu Xuan holds wedding banquet in HK". www.szdaily.com. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  7. "China stripped of 2000 Olympic bronze - CNN.com". CNN.
  8. FIG Code of Points 2009-2012, page 73.
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