Zhang Shangwu

Zhang Shangwu (Chinese: 张尚武; pinyin: Zhāng Shàngwǔ; born: 14 November 1983) is a Chinese former artistic gymnast and member of the national gymnastics team. He gained much attention in the 2010s after it was discovered that his life had turned to stealing and begging on the streets.[1][2][3]

Zhang Shangwu
Born (1983-11-14) 14 November 1983
Baoding, Hebei, China
Height1.54 m (5 ft 1 in)
Years on national team1995–2005 (CHN)
Retired2005
Medal record
Representing  China
Men's Artistic Gymnastics
Universiade
Gold medal – first place 2001 Beijing Rings
Gold medal – first place 2001 Beijing Team

Gymnastics career

Junior career

In 1988, five-year-old Zhang Shangwu entered the amateur sports school in Baoding, Hebei, after his family was convinced that sports would open opportunities for him.[4] in 1995 at the age of 12, he was selected to become a member of the national gymnastics team.[5]

Senior career

Zhang made his international debut at the 2001 Summer Universiade in Beijing, where he was able to win gold medals in rings and in the team event.[6] Zhang though was less than 18 years old at the time, not a college student, and thus in order to participate in the competition, the leadership let him pretend to be a freshman at Beijing Sports University.[7][8][9] In response to media questions about academic qualifications, the national gymnastics team responded that Zhang, a student at Beijing Sports University, was later dealt with by the national team for serious disciplinary violations.[9] Later the same year, he competed in the 35th World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Ghent, Belgium. Zhang finished sixth in the parallel bars event with a score of 9.550 and ninth in rings with a score of 9.220.[10]

In early 2002, Zhang ruptured his Achilles tendon in both legs during training.[11] He was forced by his coach to continue practicing, but was ultimately taken off the team for the 2004 Summer Olympics.[12] After ten months of rest, he decided to return to the Hebei provincial team in 2003.[11] Zhang hoped to enter a sports school as a way to retire from competitive gymnastics, but his requests were denied by sports officials and his coach.[13][14] In June 2005 at the age of 21, he voluntarily retired from competition after receiving compensation and old-age insurance payments totaling RMB 38,000.[3][15]

Life in the streets

Zhang returned to his hometown after retiring. He was a caregiver for only about a month because of back pain from his training.[6][11] He then was a restaurant waiter but was often ridiculed by the staff because of his height.[11] Due to desperation, he resorted to stealing, and in early 2007, he was arrested by Tianjin police for theft and sentenced to two months in prison.[12] After being released, Zhang moved to Beijing to wander the streets and internet cafés.[1] In July, he stole laptops, mobile phones, and cash from an athlete's apartment at the Beijing Sports University.[12] The Criminal Investigation Branch of the Beijing Xuanwu Public Security Bureau managed to obtain camera footage of the crime and Zhang was sentenced to prison for three years and ten months.[3]

Public discovery

After being released from prison in May 2011, he stayed in Beijing to beg. He would perform handstands for commuters and display photos and medals from his competitive years,[2] and ended up selling one of his Universiade gold medals for 150 RMB.[16]

In July of the same year, a user posted a video on Sina Weibo showing Zhang begging in a public area then getting expelled by police.[17][18] After Zhang Shangwu's situation caught the attention of the general public in China as well as western media, many people were quick to reach out for help as well as criticize the sports system in China.[19][20][21][5] Chen Guangbiao, a philanthropist, welcomed Zhang to work in his company in Nanjing.[22][23] Subsequently, on 28 July 2011, Zhang was officially hired as "Deputy Minister of Public Welfare of Love" and "Ambassador Spokesperson of Public Interest Image" of Jiangsu Huangpu Renewable Resources Utilization Co., Ltd., with a monthly salary of more than 11,000 RMB in addition to a 80,000 RMB bailout.[24][25] After working for Chen for about three months, he resigned due to disputed issues. Some stated that it was because he felt he was used as a publicity figure for Chen[26] and others stated that it was because of incidents where he was mocked by others for his high salary.[27][25]

Zhang moved to Shanghai in 2019 and was later jailed for a third time for pick-pocketing in July of that year.[16][28][29] After being released from prison in March 2020, he announced on social media the creation of a charity, the "Bird's Nest Project", which aimed to donate 20,000 masks to health workers in their fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.[30] With little success from the charity, he returned to perform on the streets and continues to do so today.[31]

References
  1. Ward, Clarissa (18 July 2011). "World Champion Gymnast Begging on Beijing's Subways". ABC News. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  2. "Former champion Chinese gymnast back on the streets doing handstands and singing for money". South China Morning Post. Agence France-Presse. 14 April 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  3. "从冠军到罪犯，张尚武经历了什么？曾偷窃入狱，将金牌100元变卖" [From champion to criminal, what has Zhang Shangwu experienced? Once stolen and went to jail, the gold medal was sold for 100 yuan]. Sohu (in Chinese). 20 January 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  4. Frayer, Janis Mackey (20 August 2016). "Rio 2016: China's Olympian Factories Churn Out Fewer Champions". NBC. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  5. Spak, Kevin (19 July 2011). "Champion Gymnast Found Begging on Beijing's Streets". Newser. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  6. "China's gymnast-turned-beggar back on the streets". Taipei Times. Baoding, China. Agence France-Presse. 15 April 2001. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  7. "体操冠军张尚武自曝大运会时冒充大学生参赛" [Gymnastics champion Zhang Shangwu revealed that he pretended to be a college student during the Universiade]. NetEase (in Chinese). 17 July 2011. Archived from the original on 11 February 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  8. "葛爱平：大学生张尚武" [Ge Aiping: College Student Zhang Shangwu]. Sina Sports (in Chinese). 18 July 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  9. Ya, Nong (20 July 2011). "张尚武真的曾是大学生吗" [Is Zhang Shangwu really a college student?]. The Beijing News (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 20 June 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  10. "35th World Artistic Gymnastics Championships". International Gymnastics Federation. 4 November 2001. Archived from the original on 23 August 2007. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  11. "The history of Zhang Shangwu's degeneration: From a "gymnastic champion" to a "street performer", what has he experienced". Min News. 19 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  12. Jia, Xu (16 July 2011). "Gymnast down on his luck ends up on the street". China Daily. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  13. Ide, Bill (4 August 2011). "China's State-Backed Athletes Face Tough Challenges in Retirement". Voice of America. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  14. Levin, Dan (18 August 2011). "Chinese Athletes Say No to the System". New York Times. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  15. "中國退役體操運動員張尚武 曾為國家奪兩金牌 坎坷近況曝光：三度入獄＋賤賣金牌｜網絡熱話" [Chinese retired gymnast Zhang Shangwu once won two gold medals for the country. Bumpy recent situation exposed: three times in jail + cheap sale of gold medals｜Internet hot talk]. Weekend Weekly (in Chinese). 9 August 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  16. "前体操冠军偷窃再度入狱 曾150元卖掉大运会金牌" [Former gymnastics champion went to jail again for theft, once sold the Universiade gold medal for 150 yuan]. Sina News (in Chinese). 5 December 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  17. "Chinese gymnast champion chased by police for begging, busking". Hindustan Times. 17 July 2011. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  18. "Street gymnast's plight puts focus on ex-athletes". Shanghai Daily. 16 July 2011. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  19. Yan, Alice (18 July 2011). "A world champion begs for a living". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  20. "When only gold will do". Radio Free Asia. 3 August 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  21. Graham, Daniella (18 July 2011). "Top Chinese gymnast Zhang Shangwu found begging on street". Metro. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  22. "Gymnast Zhang Shangwu, who turned to begging, gets job with billionaire Chen Guangbiao". News.com.au. 28 July 2011. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  23. "China philanthropist hires gymnast-turned-beggar". Sino Daily. Agence France-Presse. 26 July 2011. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  24. "张尚武澄清称陈光标奖励均已兑现：媒体误解我" [Zhang Shangwu clarified that the Chen Guangbiao rewards have been honored: the media misunderstood me]. China News Service (in Chinese). 24 October 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  25. "Zhang Shangwu, 37, a gymnastic champion, spent one seventh of his life in prison". JQK News. 7 April 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  26. Gu, Liping (27 January 2014). "Former star gymnast seen begging, again". China News Service. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  27. Fish, Eric (21 January 2013). "Ending to Gymnast Turned Beggar Story Not So Happy". Chinabuzz. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  28. "Gymnastics champion Zhang Shangwu: With so many houses in such a big city, I can't even live in a low-rent house". Day Day News. 17 April 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  29. "Investigation: Gymnastics champion Zhang Shangwu released from prison again, 37-year-old life"s downward curve is embarrassing". Day Day News. 18 April 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  30. "体操冠军张尚武：抓得住的吊环 抓不住的人生" [Gymnastics champion Zhang Shangwu: the ring that can be grasped, the life that can't be grasped]. The Beijing News (in Chinese). 15 April 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  31. "Hard landing: China's gymnast-turned-beggar back on the streets". Fast Break. Agence France-Presse. 21 April 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
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