Liu Xuan (gymnast)

Liu Xuan
Born (1979-08-12) August 12, 1979
Spouse
Wang Tao
​
(m. 2013)​
Gymnastics career
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
Country represented
 China
(1994–2000 (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 place1993 BeijingTeam
Gold medal – first place1997 ShanghaiTeam
Gold medal – first place1997 ShanghaiBalance Beam

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 Summer Olympics and won two Olympic medals, including gold on the balance beam in 2000. She was born in Changsha, Hunan.

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 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]

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.[4]

Personal life

Liu was married her boyfriend, musician Wang Tao, in Happy Valley, Hong Kong in December 2013.[5]

In 2015, Liu Xuan gave birth to a son and in 2020, Liu Xuan gave birth to a daughter.[6]

Results

Eponymous skills

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.[8][9] Liu stopped performing it after the 1996 Summer Olympics.

ApparatusCodeNameDescriptionDifficulty[a]
Uneven bars3.201Liu XuanGiant circle backward to handstand on one armB (0.2)
  1. ↑ Valid for the 2025–2028 Code of Points

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. ↑ Cheung, Kin (2011-05-09). "Olympic gold medalist switches to show business". USAToday.com. Retrieved 2017-06-16.
  5. ↑ "Gymnast Liu Xuan holds wedding banquet in HK". www.szdaily.com. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  6. ↑ "劉璇報喜誕B女 最好的生日禮物 - 20200811 - SHOWBIZ - 明報 Our Lifestyle". 明報 Our Lifestyle (in Traditional Chinese). Archived from the original on 2025-01-26. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
  7. ↑ "China stripped of 2000 Olympic bronze - CNN.com". CNN.
  8. ↑ "2022-2024 Code of Points Women's Artistic Gymnastics" (PDF). International Gymnastics Federation. p. 83, 207. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  9. ↑ "Women's Artistic Gymnastics – 2025-2028 Code of Points" (PDF). International Gymnastics Federation. 22 April 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2025.