Liu Shiying (Chinese: 刘诗颖; born 24 September 1993) is a Chinese athlete who competes in the javelin throw. She is the first Asian athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in women's javelin throw.[1]

Liu Shiying
Liu at the 2019 Athletissima meet
Personal information
NationalityChinese
Born (1993-09-24) September 24, 1993 (age 31)
Muping County, Yantai, Shandong
Height1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight76 kg (168 lb)
Sport
CountryChina
SportAthletics
EventJavelin throw
Medal record
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo Javelin throw
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2019 Doha Javelin throw
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2018 Jakarta Javelin throw
Asian Athletics Championships
Gold medal – first place 2015 Wuhan Javelin throw
Silver medal – second place 2023 Bangkok Javelin throw

Career

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Born in Muping County, Yantai, Shandong Province,[2] Liu competed in track and field as a teenager and came to prominence nationally with a win at the Chinese City Games.[3] A win at the national junior championships in 2012 saw her rise to the top of the world junior rankings with a personal best of 57.52 m (188 ft 8 in).[2]

She entered the 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics as the leading athlete and improved her best to 58.47 m (191 ft 9 in) in the qualifying round.[4] She improved again to 59.20 m (194 ft 2 in) in the final and led until the final round when Sweden's Sofi Flinck had a large personal best to knock Liu into the silver medal position.[5] She had won a gold medal herself at the 2012 Asian Junior Athletics Championships a month earlier.[6]

Liu made a gradual progression into the senior ranks. She was sixth at the 2012 Chinese Athletics Championships,[7] then improved to fourth behind Chang Chunfeng at the 12th Chinese National Games in 2013 with a personal best of 60.23 m (197 ft 7 in) – her first throw beyond sixty metres.[8] She did not compete at a major event in 2014, but a new best throw of 62.72 m (205 ft 9 in) gave her her highest world ranking yet at 21st (behind only Asian Games winner Zhang Li among Asian women).[9][10]

She established herself internationally with a win at the 2015 Asian Athletics Championships, taking the gold medal for China in a championship record of 61.33 m (201 ft 2 in) (beating the mark set by her compatriot Li Lingwei in 2013).[11]

On 6 August 2021, she won the gold medal in women's javelin throw at 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo with 66.34 m (217 ft 7 in), thereby becoming the first Asian to win an Olympic gold medal in women's javelin throw and the second Chinese athlete to be crowned the Olympic champion in any field event.[12]

On 23 September 2021, she won the gold medal in women's javelin throw at the 2021 National Games of China in Shaanxi with 64.33 metres.[13]

International competitions

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Year Competition Venue Position Notes
2012 World Junior Championships Barcelona, Spain 2nd 59.20
Asian Junior Championships Colombo, Sri Lanka 1st 53.02
2015 Asian Championships Wuhan, China 1st 61.33 CR
2016 Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 23rd (q) 57.16
2017 World Championships London, United Kingdom 8th 62.84
2018 Asian Games Jakarta, Indonesia 1st 66.09
2019 World Championships Doha, Qatar 2nd 65.88 m
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 1st 66.34 m
2022 World Championships Eugene, United States 4th 63.25 m
2023 Asian Championships Bangkok, Thailand 2nd 61.51 m
World Championships Budapest, Hungary 6th 61.66 m
Asian Games Hangzhou, China 5th 57.62 m

Seasonal bests

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  • 2018: 67.12 m (220 ft 2+12 in)
  • 2017: 66.47 m (218 ft 34 in)
  • 2016: 65.64 m (215 ft 4+14 in)
  • 2015: 62.77 m (205 ft 11+14 in)
  • 2014: 62.72 m (205 ft 9+14 in)
  • 2013: 60.23 m (197 ft 7+14 in)
  • 2012: 59.20 m (194 ft 2+12 in)
  • 2011: 55.10 m (180 ft 9+14 in)
  • 2010: 50.92 m (167 ft 12 in)

All information from IAAF profile

References

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  1. ^ "LIU Shiying claims Asia's first-ever Olympic gold in women's javelin". Tokyo Olympics official website. 6 August 2021. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  2. ^ a b Jalava, Mirko (23 April 2012). Several junior world leads posted in Changzhou. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-06-08.
  3. ^ Jalava, Mirko (25 October 2011). Asian junior men's Shot Put record in Nanchang as Chinese City Games Conclude. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-06-08.
  4. ^ Martin, David (10 July 2012). Driouch and Dirirsa commence rivalry – 2 World leading performances – Barcelona 2012 – Day One morning session. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-06-08.
  5. ^ Valiente, Emeterio (11 July 2012). Barcelona 2012 – Event Report – Women's Javelin Throw Final. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-06-08.
  6. ^ Krishnan, Ram. Murali (13 June 2012). Ashraf steals the show in Asian Juniors with 80.85m world junior hammer lead. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-06-08.
  7. ^ Jalava, Mirko (26 September 2012). Chinese championships close out domestic season well. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-06-08.
  8. ^ Athletics results at China's National Games. Xinhua (9 September 2013). Retrieved on 2015-06-08.
  9. ^ Javelin Throw – women – senior – outdoor – 2014. IAAF. Retrieved on 8 June 2015.
  10. ^ Jalava, Mirko (29 March 2014). Wang smashes Asian hammer record in China. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-06-08.
  11. ^ China add four gold on final day to finish on top at Asian Championships. IAAF (7 June 2015). Retrieved on 2015-06-08.
  12. ^ "Athletics - Final Results". Tokyo Olympics Official Website. 6 August 2021. Archived from the original on 6 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  13. ^ Olympic champion Liu eases to javelin throw title at National Games
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