Shaolin Sándor Liu

Shaolin Sándor Liu (Chinese: 劉少林; pinyin: Liú Shàolín; Mandarin pronunciation: [ljǒʊ ʂâʊ lǐn]; born 20 November 1995) is a Chinese-Hungarian Olympic champion short track speed skater.[1][2] He has won one gold and one bronze as part of the Hungarian team in short track speed skating relays at the 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics. He has chosen to change nationality that may allow him to compete for China in 2024.

In this article, the surname is Liu (刘).

The native form of this personal name is Liu Shaolin Sándor. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.
Shaolin Sándor Liu
Liu in 2014
Personal information
Nationality Hungary (1995-2022)
 China (2022-)
Born (1995-11-20) 20 November 1995
Budapest, Hungary
Height1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight76
Sport
Country Hungary (2013-2022)
 China (2023-)
SportShort track speed skating
ClubFerencvárosi Torna Club（2019-2022)Tianjin Winter and Water Sports Management Center(2022-)
Coached byZhang Jing (speed skater)
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)500 m: 39.732 (2019)
1,000 m: 1:22.490 (2023)
1,500 m: 2:09.213 (2022)
3,000 m: 4:46.110 (2019)
Medal record
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 1 0 1
World Championships 2 5 3
European Championships 6 8 2
Total 9 13 6
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2018 Pyeongchang5000 m relay
Bronze medal – third place2022 Beijing2000 m mixed relay
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2016 Seoul500 m
Gold medal – first place2021 Dordrecht1000 m
Silver medal – second place2015 Moscow500 m
Silver medal – second place2015 Moscow5000 m relay
Silver medal – second place2018 MontrealOverall
Silver medal – second place2021 DordrechtOverall
Silver medal – second place2021 Dordrecht5000 m relay
Bronze medal – third place2016 SeoulOverall
Bronze medal – third place2017 Rotterdam5000 m relay
Bronze medal – third place2019 Sofia5000 m relay
European Championships
Gold medal – first place2017 Turin1000 m
Gold medal – first place2019 DordrechtOverall
Gold medal – first place2019 Dordrecht1500 m
Gold medal – first place2019 Dordrecht5000 m relay
Gold medal – first place2020 Debrecen500 m
Gold medal – first place2020 Debrecen1000 m
Silver medal – second place2015 Dordrecht5000 m relay
Silver medal – second place2016 Sochi1000 m
Silver medal – second place2016 Sochi1500 m
Silver medal – second place2016 Sochi5000 m relay
Silver medal – second place2017 TurinOverall
Silver medal – second place2019 Dordrecht500 m
Silver medal – second place2019 Dordrecht1000 m
Silver medal – second place2020 DebrecenOverall
Bronze medal – third place2013 Malmö5000 m relay
Bronze medal – third place2018 Dresden5000 m relay
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place2014 Erzurum500 m
Silver medal – second place2013 Warsaw1000 m
Bronze medal – third place2014 ErzurumOverall
Bronze medal – third place2014 Erzurum1000 m
Shaolin Sándor Liu
Simplified Chinese刘少林
Traditional Chinese劉少林

Career

Born and raised in Hungary to a Chinese father and a Hungarian mother, Liu started the sport in 2006. Before taking up skating, Liu and his brother Shaoang swam for two years, but they frequently got colds as a result.[3] After looking for different sports to compete in, they took up short track speed skating.

In 2006, the World Championships were held in Hungary. Their father assisted the Chinese team during their stay, helping with their stay and guiding them around.[3] After the Chinese team suggested his two sons should go train in China due to their half-Chinese ethnicity,[3] Liu's father agreed to take the boys to China, where they trained for one and a half years.[3] After returning from China, they began to win various minor European competitions.[3] In 2012, Zhang Jing came from China to coach Liu and his brother.[4][3]

Liu represented Hungary at the 2014 Winter Olympics.[5] He has won multiple medals at the World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships,[6] and placed third overall at the 2016 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships.[7]

He finished in fifth position at the 2018 Winter Olympics in the men's 1500 m event before winning gold in the 5000 m relay, which was also Hungary's first-ever Winter Olympics title.[8]

At the 2022 Winter Olympics held in Beijing, Liu was disqualified for an infringement despite finishing first in the men's 1000m final.[9] He won a bronzein the mixed 2000 m relay.[10]

In November 2022, Liu and his brother requested consent from the Hungarian National Skating Federation to allow them to change nationality, a request which was granted a month later in December, but they would need to sit out for 12 months with the change in nationality.[11][12]

Personal life

Liu's younger brother Shaoang Liu is also a short track speed skater. He was second in the 1500 m, third in the 500 m, and fifth overall at the 2016 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships.[13] Though born to a Chinese father from Tianjin, Liu speaks Chinese with a noticeable Northeastern accent due to his year and a half spent in the Northeastern region of China.[4] He was in a relationship with fellow speed skater Elise Christie from 2015 to 2018.[14][15]

See also

References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Sándor Liu". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 4 December 2016. Full name: Shaolin "Sándor" Liu
  2. "Short Track Speed Skating | Athlete Profile: Shaolin Sandor LIU – Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Winter Games". Pyeongchang2018.com. Archived from the original on 21 April 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  3. Duran, Andres. "Featured interview: Liu Brothers (HUN) – ISU". isu.org. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  4. Mia Castagnone (15 February 2022). "Winter Olympics: Hungary's Liu brothers Shaolin and Shaoang strengthen bonds with China after success on Beijing ice". South China Morning Post.
  5. "Sochi 2014 site". sochi2014.com. Archived from the original on 5 July 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  6. "Rp gyorskori: Liu Shaolin megnyerte a junior-vb-t" [Rp quick time: Shaolin Liu won the junior World Championships]. nemzetisport.hu (in Hungarian). 8 March 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  7. Men's overall results
  8. "Christie's boyfriend wins gold". BBC Sport.
  9. "Winter Olympics 2022 - Hungary's Shaolin Liu disqualified as Ren Ziwei takes dramatic 1000m gold". Eurosport. 7 February 2022.
  10. "Shaolin Sándor Liu Pledges to Return Stronger Than Ever for 2026 Olympics". Hungary Today. 18 February 2022.
  11. "Hungary history-making short track speed skating brothers seek new country". NBC Sports. 9 November 2022.
  12. "Hungarian skating federation agrees to Liu brothers' change of country". Xinhua. 20 December 2022.
  13. Liu Shaolin (28 January 2016). "93 days since Together". Retrieved 14 November 2016 – via Twitter.
  14. Falkingham, Katie (16 November 2018). "Elise Christie: Speed skater considered quitting after Winter Olympics". BBC News.
  15. Rutlzer, Peter (14 February 2018). "Winter Olympics: The couples spending Valentine's Day in PyeongChang". i.

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