December, 1998

http://www.chinasports.com/mx86.htm

Liu Xuan looks slimmer. She is obvious lighter than when I had an interview with her in the national team in May. "Are you trying to reduce weights?" I asked with curiosity. "No." She was a bit surprised, then she looked at her body and said: "Maybe I have more exercise these days! We're preparing for the Asian Games!"

Q: Now you're the only girl at 19 in the national team, and you're still in good shape. What made you so successful of doing this?

A: One reason is there're so many people helping me; secondly it is the change of my mental state. When I was little, I had different thoughts and I was not very mature. I only did whatever the coach said. I didn't always like it. But now gymnastics is my career, and it is also my job, I have to do it well. I'm the World champion (on beam), but there's still Olympic champion [ahead]. This is probably what motivates me.

Q: You'll be 21 in 2000. Do you think you can maintain your peak to that time?

A: Now the young teammates are catching up very fast. I'm not sure how my condition will be two years later, but I'll try my best. Even I will only have tiny hope [of making it], or I may only be an alternate, I will work hard to the last moment.

Q: After Atlanta, you had been sent back to the province team, then you made a strong come back to the national team. Did this affect how you think?

A: Yes! Before I had narrow view of gymnastics, I always felt it was a very hard and tired job. Although I had never been a champion in any international competition, but I had been the second, and the third, it was quite satisfied to me. I was thinking that I was still young, when older teammates retire, I would have the chance to come back again. I felt I was responsible for part of the sports. After that, I become more active in training, then training is not a burden anymore. It can be enjoyable. Especially when I become competent of a skill, it is like I'm integrated with it. I had never got that feeling before.

Q: The Asian Games are coming soon, how is your condition? What are your goals?

A: I'm okay. My goal is to get more gold medals in my stronger events. Now, Ling Jie's AA, Bi Wen Jing and another Japanese girl's bars are all very strong. But I have my own advantages. I'm more experienced. I'm more consistent. If I could compete with my best, the result should be good. (Liu Xuan won the AA and beam gold there for herself.)

Q: How is your training arranged now?

A: I'm aged. There's a difference between younger teammates and me. For example, they train for one long day, after having a good rest, they can restore their strength. I can't. Sometimes I can't restore in two or three days. The coaches are giving me different schedules according to my own condition, like I could stop when it's enough, not like younger gymnasts, they have to train more. This is to ensure my body won't be injured. Because I'm an old gymnast now, I can't stand injuries. I can only rely on a different method: to train less, to train efficiently.

Q: Both Meng Fei and Kui Yuan Yuan were injured during the training for the Asian Games. Did you feel any pressure?

A: Yes! And I'm feeling big pressure. Both Yuan Yuan and Meng Fei are important members in the team. Their injuries even affected our confidence, because there were already two young teammates who got injured before the training started: Rao Mei Zhen had a wrist injury, Chen Mi had an ankle injury. For the Asian Games, the coaches didn't set any goals for us, but we all know that we have to defend our position as team champion. Now both Yuan Yuan and Meng Fei had started training again, but they can't train too much. We are very careful now. If there are more members injured, we would run out of members for substitution.

Q: You are the female captain. How do you think of the role of being a captain?

A: You can say the captain is a small coach to the team. Not only I have to take care of my own group, when I see something not right about teammates in other groups, I have to correct them. Coach Lu [Shan Zhen] often says: "You're grown up now, you should help me as an assistant." (laugh) Sometimes I don't do very well in training, Coach Lu would criticize me: "If the team captain isn't consistent, how can you stabilize the team?" Sometimes I feel unhappy too: I'm much older than others are and I'm still training. This is not easy for me. Why is my coach always criticizing me? But when I calm down, I agree with him. A team captain should be a model for other team members. If I don't do well, other kids will tangle. I feel proud to be the captain: I'm in charge of so many teammates! (laugh)

Q: Talking to you, it feels like your thinking doesn't match your age. Put it another way, it's like you're so mature.

A: Many people have told me this, probably because I had many failures. When I was little, my parents started teaching me to be strong and independent. What made me feel grown up all of a sudden was when I transferred to this group, Coach Lu and Coach Liu [Qun Lin] not only helped me in gymnastics, they also taught me a lot in real life. All of these helped improve my development.

Q: Have you contacted Sang Lan recently?

A: When we were competing in Tianjin, she phoned in once. It was already 4:00 am in the morning. I was thinking who would call me at such a time, I still had a competition coming up the next day. I asked who was calling. She didn't answer. She asked me to take a guess. I thought it must be a joke from one of my friends. I was going to hang up, then she said: "Xuan Jie ("jie" means elder sister), don't hang up don't hang up I'm Sang Lan." I was totally awake. I didn't think it would be her! She said she was going to call at 9:00 pm but she couldn't wait. At that night all members in our group (including Bi, Kui, and Meng) were up. We talked with her for awhile. We only know that she's living in Ms. Xie Xiao Hong's son's house.

(note: "jie" means elder sister, "ge" means elder brother)

Q: You girls must really miss her.

A: Yes...I'm sad about this (her eyes turned red). In a time they showed her everyday on TV, we all cried... All of us are like sisters. We feel really uncomfortable missing her. In that phone call, she said:" Xuan Jie, I know you girls are preparing for the Asian Games, I will watch all of you competing on TV..." We wanted to write to her, but we don't have her address. Recently we knew that Li Ning Ge ("ge" means elder brother) was going to U.S., we all wrote letters to her, we bought hawn (fruit of hawthorn, Sang Lan's favourite food), and let Li Ning Ge bring them to her. We have discussed about this already, after we got gold in the Asian Games, the first thing we'll do is to call her.

(end)

Interview taken in 1998

http://www.chinasports.com/mx14.htm

Remember CHEN Cui Ting? The girl with pony tail who ran, flipped and twisted in the gym.

Do you still recognize her, if you meet her on the street? After you read the following article, I don't know if you have would a strong feeling about her as me.

CHEN Cui Ting's profile:

zodiac: rat (that means she was born in 1972)

province: Hu Nan City: Chang Sha

Started gymnastics at 5, entered the national team at 10.

Had represented China many times in international competitions.

Got a total of 6 gold medals in the 10th and 11th Asian games.

Retired in 1991, entered the University of Shen Zhen (the city in China closest to Hong Kong), studied international trading and financing. An honours graduate of the university. Now working as a representative for the Development Bank of Shen Zhen in Hong Kong.

From Chen Cui Ting:

I don't know why, I always think of that little girl. She hid in the garret of the house and played piano, stayed there for a whole day.

I was only 5 at that time. Every song that I heard only once, I could write down the music score for it. I was a very sensitive person. Music would always excite me. So far, listening to music is still my greatest enjoyment. Also, I couldn't sit still while I was listening to music. I always danced when there was music.

I was very introversive and timid. My parents thought that my personality would not be good to me when I grow up, they then took me to a gymnastics school. On the other hand, my younger brother was very naughty, they let him study violin. My gymnastics career started from this point.

I remember on the first day when my mother took me to the gym. The teacher pushed my shoulder, I felt the pain and cried. The teacher asked me if I could work hard, I turned my head to mother, what is hard?

At that time I was only 5. It was too young for me to understand the word "hard." My body was not very suitable for doing gymnastics, but my first teacher's remark about me was that I was a hard working and perceptive child. I was allowed to stay. After the first day, I cried and asked mother to take me home. I didn't go home; I had stayed for 12 years.

From 5 to 17, my childhood and youth were spent in the gym as in an army. My whole life was dormitory--gym--competition. The 1990 Asian games was my last competition. After the celebration of my retirement, I started to think about my future. At that time I had a strong desire, that is, to return to people with similar age, to go back to a normal life.

The celebration of my retirement was held in Shen Zhen. After that, I went to the University of Shen Zhen alone. I found the Chair of my faculty. I told her that I wanted to study there. She was the first professor I met in the university. She always smiled and listened to me. I honestly told her that I only finished grade 3. During the 365 days in a year, our athletes have to train for 364 days. My academics were very poor. But I wanted to study at university, wanted it very much that even in my dream, I was studying at university. I told her that I was well known about the fact that I might be unable to graduate. But if I could come to school, to study with classmates, my dream would be fulfilled.

I always remembered the road before the main entrance of the U. of Shen Zhen. It was still a dusty road in 1990, now it becomes the famous Shen Nan Avenue. Every time I pass there, I have many feelings. I feel that I am integrated with this place, my former classmates, teachers and friends. Just like the fencing of the road is lowered, the paint becomes the beautiful white color, more intimate and prettier, all of these make me feel happy...

The first day in the university for registration, I felt very excited. I said hi to everyone I saw in the school. There were so many people in the school who are of the similar age to me, in different clothes. Everything was so fresh. I followed them, from one place to another, to recognize where the cafeteria was, where the lecture rooms were, and where the library was. The whole school knew I went to the university.

At the beginning there were a lot of people came to the dormitory to see me. But when school started, it became better. No one felt special during all four years about my presence. This is one good thing at Shen Zhen. Everyone is independent. Nobody care about your brilliant past. I had a roommate in the dormitory. When I got there, she was already in the room. She saw me, then kindly came forward and said hi to me, then she walked away. It made me feel very comfortable. Afterwards, she told me:" One of my former teachers always said that: don't you have so many idols? Maybe there's a future star sitting in between your classmates." I felt very touching, because she had treated me as a normal student.

Everyone had to participate at the military training at the beginning of university. I had many injuries. I was exempted. But I wanted to stay with everyone, I asked for the training. We ran and rolled together, we snatched meals from each other, we grabbed our places for shower... My classmates taught me biking, volleyball, taught me everything I didn't know. Look at the me in the picture, my eyes were shining, my whole body was shining, I was very vigorous. It was like the feeling of first love. Sitting in the classroom, I didn't understand, but I wasn't worried. I always looked outside the window, I was embedded in the feeling of dreams. I told myself, my dream has come true: I could finally sit in a lecture room of a university...

My first semester passed recklessly in such a sweet dream.

In the first class of English, we had to use English to introduce ourselves. When it was my turn, I couldn't say one word. I only started learning alphabets after three months in university, but our faculty was the best in English in the school. I felt embarrassed, but I was not timid. I stood up and honestly told everyone, I didn't know how to speak English. I asked everyone to help me. The professor and classmates all accepted my request. I was once the best in a field, but I was the least knowledgeable here. Not everyone feels comfortable with this. My parents are practical people. I was taught not to be proud at peaks, not to be defeated in valleys. This has great effects on me. I never lose confidence in myself. I was not a very competitive athlete. I only compared with myself.

I started working very hard to catch up in the second term. I used three months to learn all the English textbooks for high school. It was like I went back to the gym. Learning is also a process to challenge limits. In athletics, challenging limits is the steady state, in every minute, in every second. Now, I still have dreams of training in the gym. It is always the same situation, has height dread but have to stand on a cliff, fear about water but have to swim... I always awake from these tense dreams. This is what 12 years of challenging limits left to me: you can't relax in any second!

I first started training in the national team in Bei Jing. Standing under the uneven bars, every finger of mine had blood bubbles, even the bars had my blood. But you have to jump up again, to force yourself bleeding again. Challenging limits are physical and also mental trials. It was easy to do it for one day, but not so easy for 12 years. The Asian games in 1990 was the peak of my gymnastics career, it was also magic. I had not been training for 6 months before the competition, I had a serious waist injury. It was about one month before the competition, we had our last trial. One gymnast fell from the bars, a little girl cried. The team had a very low spirit. I was sitting beside the apparatus. I was thinking: "I am the team captain, and this competition is going to be held at home." I was very anxious, I told the doctor, give me some anaesthesia, I had to compete!

Before my age of 18, I had injuries all over my body. My tongue had been cut in two halves. I was always facing with challenges, but it doesn't mean I enjoyed every step of the process. You need four seasons in your life to feel great. I had the moment of being at the peak, but it was only a short instant. I am back to the beginning now. I don't want to be famous, I prefer to be a person to experience in life, to slowly climb my mountain.

A famous Chinese author once said, the meaning of life is in the process of continuous change. To me, the true meaning of life are those little pieces of happiness. For instance, after awhile, I noticed that I could understand the professor, I could communicate with my classmates, I had learned a new word.

On the day of graduation, I got there early. I was sitting at the front row. Sitting there was just like standing on the medal podium. Four years ago, I didn't think I could graduate, but now I have to get a trophy for graduating as an honour student. I also passed the 6 levels of national united examination of English with the first ranking in our university.

Before graduation, I took my resume to the personnel market to apply for a job. This is a characteristic in Shen Zhen. I was very confident. I passed my resume, the interviewer asked me: "Weren't you a gymnast? Why are you here?" I gave him a smile. I calmly introduced myself. I told him I am an honours graduate. I asked him to read my resume first, and please tell me if I would be qualified for the job. I got my answer in the same afternoon, I was accepted. I then started working at the Development Bank of Shen Zhen.

It is very suitable to use the idiom "knowledge of ocean has no shores" to describe the job at the bank. Everyone is just like a tiny screw in a huge machine. I first worked at the International Department. One year later, I moved on to the preparation of Off-shore Department. Last year, I was appointed to come to Hong Kong to be a representative. Now I have to move back and forth between Shen Zhen and Hong Kong. I have more independent tasks, and I have broadened my view.

I am a very plain girl. Unless I am working in Hong Kong, I usually don't wear make up. I don't spend a lot on clothing, but I like one-piece skirt. To me, girls in one-piece skirt are the prettiest. I like to buy books. I shop at bookstores just like girls shopping at fashion stores. I feel satisfied whenever I touch books. It's the effect of many years of doing gymnastics, it makes me cherish every moment in life. On the first day in Hong Kong, I bought a pair of running shoes. I walked without destination after work. I like to quietly experience the variety of living. I like every delicate thing: exquisite glasses, beautiful cover... They all hold my breath. Even the high buildings in Hong Kong make me feel touching. They are all great work of human.

Ask for remark about myself? In a small range, I am a good daughter, a good gymnast, a good employee, and a good friend. I like to try a lot of things. I would devote my whole potential. For love, I look for mutual admiration. I hope my future husband would be a wise person. In the second year of university, I had a boyfriend. That was my first relationship. I totally throught myself into it. Slowly I noticed we were not suitable to each other. I used almost two years to calm it down.

During university, I passed the examination for international judging with the first ranking in Asia. When I was a judge, I noticed that I was different from other judges: I shared the happiness and sadness with the gymnasts. When they have injuries, I could tell which part of their body is injured. Gymnastics is still part of my life. If I have the chance, I will do my part for it.

I'm in a state of storing time and knowledge. When I am ready, I like to go travelling. I had been to many places, but I only stopped for a very short time. When I go to those places again, I will look at them from a different angle. I believe I will have different feelings. To a certain extent, life is the process of experiencing.

I believe, the meaning of life, is only from your experiencing.

From the interviewer:

She was sitting and talking on the phone. Her hand and body both had an elegant pose. Other than her small body, you won't be able to find any marks of gymnastics.

Before I met her, I always had the image of the girl with pony tail, flipping and turning with music. The most impressive was the 1990 Asian Games. After she won gold, she waved her hands to the audience, her pony tail waved too. I remember many university students like her image. When I told her that she was quite popular to her male classmates, it's been 7 years now and she still felt excited. She told me that was her greatest moment in her gymnastics career, also the end her gymnastics career. After that, she left gymnastics with many injuries and came to Shen Zhen.

Now sitting in front of me, talking with me at such a close distance, she's not the little girl with pony tail anymore. Her move, and her smile, are all standards of a white-collar. She's mature, calm, and sensitive, with beauty. She's a comprehensive girl. I feel a little surprise mixed with happiness talking to her. I notice that she has read many books. She told me she only started to read a lot of books after graduating from university. It was too busy during school days.

There should be a lot of stories in twelve years of abnormal training. But she was more concentrated to her feelings, using her words "can't remember clearly" about those ups and downs. She's more willing to discuss about topics in everyday life. Surrounding us are people who have a normal living, very likely you could tell what to get and what to lose from our prediction. But Chen Cui Ting had 12 years that was out of this orbit. Gymnastics created a young girl and made her the spokesman of a country with 120 million populations. But she's just like a drop of water, she has to go back to the ocean of normal life. At that time, other than 12 years of special experience, what can gymnastics help her? But Chen Cui Ting was not drowned. Graduating with honours standing from university may not be very special to many people, but it's not that simple for Chen Cui Ting. It's not simple to her life either: this is a fresh and solid start.

She said gymnastics wasn't her choice. I asked her, if she could choose it again, would it be gymnastics? She shaked her head, and said:" If time could reverse, I want to be Fu Cong, born in the family of Fu Lei (I think Fu Cong is a famous character)..." She said it quietly, but it flooded me a lot of feelings at that instant. I started to understand what she meant by "bitter" of doing gymnastics.

I asked her if she has any close friends in Shen Zhen, the type that you could tell them everything. She pondered for awhile, and shaked her head. "What do you do when you have worries?" "I think about it quietly myslef. It was like this when in the gymnastics team." She softly said.

Looking at her calm but confident eyes, I started to understand, to a certain extent, sports has already integrated with her body, her will, her thinking, and her expression to the world.

No one could help you, only your could face it: pain or limit.

(end)

Interview taken in 1998

http://www.chinasports.com/mx1.htm

Mo: I passed 1997 with bitter failure and tears. When I was extremely depressed, there were still many people who cared about me, and liked me. It was very touching. There's something I've always wanted to say but didn't have a chance: sorry, I have disappointed everyone.

Q: Have you thought about the reason for your recent failures [since Atlanta]?

Mo: Of course. Let's start from my adjustment after Atlanta. Sometimes I had a careless personality, many older teammates had retired, I didn't know what to do. I could not concentrate in training, then I got blue slowly. In addition, the male coach who had been training me for six years, Liu Gui Cheng, moved on to train other new teammates. My new coach, Ma Jun, felt difficult to request a famous gymnast like me. He didn't force me much. Sometimes I didn't finish my drills. The more you mow the more you get. I didn't work hard enough, so I don't success.

Q: You know you didn't have enough training, why had you not worked harder?

Mo: Both my coach and I were trying to change the situation, but it was not as easy when it came into practice. When I could not catch up, I get anxious. But the quality of my work gets worse if I worry.

Q: Were you under your previous shadow?

Mo: Yes. After I got famous, I could feel my mind has changed, my mental burden had increased. When things don't go smoothly in gym, I start to feel anxious and fidgety. I want to be back to the level of a World Champion. I often take out my pictures of the 1994 Asian Games, I admire the me at that time, I was carefree, innocent and happy!

Q: Many people want to know what you will do in the future.

Mo: I have been doing gymnastics for so many years, I have very deep emotion with it. No matter what my choice will be, I won't leave the field of gymnastics. My sad and disappointed 1997 has left, let it take away my tears and sorrow. I want to get back my original self, the girl who has confidence and smile, to face my new life.

Q: When will you retire?

Mo: Possibly soon! Not because I don't want to shine anymore, I'm already 19 years old. Also my younger teammates can support the team now. Being an older member, I should give them more chances. Looking back at the past, many of my older teammates had paved the road for me.

Q: Do you feel sad of leaving the team?

Mo: I will cry for sure. Two years ago, when Qiao Ya and Ye Lin Lin retired, everyone cried. I think, when I have to leave the team, there will be a lot of things that I can't bear to depart, my coach who has treated me as my mother, Yuan Zi Zuan, my teammates like my close sisters, Liu Xuan , Kui Yuan Yuan ...

Q: What do you want to do after you retire?

Mo: I want to go to school, to learn, to have a life of a normal student. Maybe many people don't know about this, I have never studied at a school. I don't know what students think. After I joined the national team, I has never been good in academics. But when I return to the society, I won't be able to accomplish anything without a good education. I need to go to school to learn some skills.

Q: You have really grown up, isn't it?

Mo: Looking at my pictures from a few years ago, I really feel I have grown up. But to be honest, I don't want to grow up, I want to hold my 18 year-old, to hold my gymnastics career!

(end)

Interview taken in 1998

http://www.chinasports.com/mx42.htm

After the retirement of experienced team members Li Xiao Shuang, Huang Li Ping, and Guo Lin Yao, many new boys appear in the Men's Gymnastics team. Huang Xu is one of them. Huang Xu is not tall.

He has a shy expression. Our discussion started with the World Cup final in Sabae.

Q: You were qualified for vault final, why have you not competed in Sabae?

H: After the 8th National Games, I have an ankle injury (it's still swollen now), hence I didn't vault well in the prelim series. I was only the 6th in vault. To be the champion, I need two difficult vaults. I only warmed up for one, I couldn't practice the other vault due to my injury. To prepare for the National Championship and the Goodwill Games, I had to give up the chance to compete in Sabae.

Q: Was that a big pity?

H: My legs aren't that cooperative. But I have to blame myself too. It was right after the 8th National Games, during the two prelim competitions for the World Cup final, my training was a bit lagging behind. If I had more exercises, my standing might be higher.

Q: Now many people call you a "gifted teen". Other people have to practice five or six times to learn one skill, you only need two or three times to master it, is this true? To get a medal, what factors do you need other than a flexible mind?

H: There are no "gifted people" in gymnastics, only regular exercises will help you success. If a talented gymnast doesn't work hard, his talent would not last long. To get a medal, you must have the ability to endure besides wisdom. Not only you have to endure the tough work, but more importantly to endure to the injuries. And always try to stand up again after a failure, especially when you're physically or mentally weak, you need to work harder to have a new peak.

Q: What major titles did you get after you joined the Chinese National team?

H: I joined the National team in 1993. I got 1st AA, 1st PB at the 1995 Junior World Championships, 2nd AA at the 1997 East Asian Games and 1st team in 1997 World Championships.

Q: Other than your great efforts, what did your family do to help you success in gymnastics?

H: I started gymnastics at the age of 4. My parents wanted me to have enough nutrition. They gave me all the good food (China still had limited resources in the early 80's). Sometimes when they went to my sport school to visit me, I was hungry. They had to buy me extra snacks. For the six years in Nan Tong (the city where Huang Xu was born), they had to ride on bike to take me to school and back to home for

10km, for all weather, windy or rainy. When I got home, they had to help me do leg split, handstand and stretching. After I joined the province team in Nan Jing (the capital of the province), they came to visit me every month. Nan Tong is very far away from Nan Jing, ships took one night from Nan Tong to Nan Jing. They were just workers. To visit me once every month, they had to be very conservative in spending their income. There were no extra money left... I didn't understand all of these when I was little. Now I start to know that they were having very difficult times.

Q: Many people who know you said that you are a perceptive child. Is this due to your parents' guidance?

H: Yes. Because my family wasn't ample, my parents have taught me to be frugal since I was a child. I remember once I saw a very pretty pencil case in a store when I went out with my father, I didn't look at the price and I told father that I wanted it. Papa didn't buy it. I cried. After I got home, Mama tole me not just to look at the appearance. A metal box is more durable. After I joined the province team, my parents taught me to be independent, and I should respect the coaches, to be friendly with my teammates. Mother said: "You are the team captain. You should be a model to your teammates." (Huang Xu was only 10 years old)

Q: What made you choose gymnastics?

H: I was a bit introversive when little, the type who plays by himself. When my mother took me to a sport school, I think she wanted me to make more friends, to have a vivid personality. There was one thing that changed my view, or, probably my fate. It's the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, after I watched from television that Li Ning got a gold medal for China, there was the National Anthem playing and the flag of China waving. I could feel the respect [toward him]. I didn't know doing gymnastics could be so terrific! I told Mama: "Let's not call me Huang Xu anymore, call me Li Ning!" (Laugh) I think having the flag of China waving in another country is very proud. This is part of my inspiration for further improvement.

Q: I heard that you gymnasts have to study besides training. Which do you think is more important?

H: Both are important. There's a very good idiom: "an army without education is a dumb army." You have a broader view with higher education, and thus know more solutions to a difficult problem. Now our teachers are very rigorous about our education. We have to do homework and write exams. Also we have to learn a bit of foreign languages, because we have to use them in competitions.

Q: How would you remark Coach Huang [Yu Bin]?

H: He is very strict during training. But when we leave the gym, he's quite nice. He likes to be tidy. He always reminds us to leave our room clean and tidy. He said a clean room helps you to get a good mood. He uses some examples to let us think more. For instance, he said, a good routine is just like a good combination, or a touching music, it should make you think of the beauty of art. He's a very experienced coach. I admire him very much, honestly.

(end)