Jiading gymnast shares gold in Glasgow games
Print Edition
It was November 1 and the finals of the 2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships were taking place in Glasgow, UK. Fan Yilin from Shanghai’s Jiading District was third to compete on the uneven bars and won the first gold medal for China with a score of 15.366, making her the seventh Chinese uneven bars champion in the event.
“I am really excited to win, but it’s also a bit unexpected that four of us shared the award,” says Fan. She is referring to the four-way tie between herself, Russia’s Viktoria Komova and Daria Spiridonova, as well as Madison Kocian of the US. These contestants created their own slice of history in the 112-year-old championships. It was the first time such a result had occured since five people shared the silver medal for the pommel horse event in 1992.
Fan, born in 1999, is a young gymnast who’s accomplished a lot, having been selected in June 2014 to join China’s national gymnastics team. Looking back on her career, the achievement in Glasgow was well-earned: in 2012 and 2013, she won multiple gold medals in several nationwide competitions, including the national youth gymnastics championships and the Chinese national games.
In September, 2013, during the 12th national games, Team Shanghai defended its title at the women’s gymnastics events with a total score of 224.540. As an important member of the team, Fan gave an excellent performance on the uneven bars, increasing the chances of Shanghai eventually winning the gold medal. This win made her the first Chinese national games champion from Jiading. At the age of only 14, she was the youngest on the team and also a shining star showing great potential.
Fan returned to Putong Elementary School, where she studied, after winning the gold medal. She shared her experience as an athlete with younger students at the school and encouraged them to follow their dreams.
Her inspiring journey didn’t stop there. In 2015, she participated in the Asian gymnastics championships held in Japan’s Hiroshima, and was placed first in the balance beam, third in the uneven bars and took second place in the team competition.
Fan’s success doesn’t come from nowhere. According to her father Fan Bingzhu, she has eight calluses on her hands from years of hard training. While her father worries that she might be dealing with too much pressure for her age, Fan has always been optimistic about her daily training and gymnastics career. “These calluses are actually quite helpful. My hands hurt much less with them protecting me,” she says with a big smile.
To prepare for a major competition such as the national games and the world championships, Fan has to complete eight hours’ of intensive training every day, even when the weather is unbearably hot. She does long-distance running, stretches and specific training for different events including vault, uneven bars and floor exercises.
Seeing his daughter’s diligence finally paying off, Fan Bingzhu is more than exhilarated.
“She spends much more time at the training center than at home. Sometimes she will tell me when she’s feeling too stressed out. I feel guilty for not being able to stand by her side all the time,” he says.
However, he has his own way of expressing love and support for his child. “Every time she goes out for a competition, I’d record (film) her time with the family before departure and her entire trip. This has been a tradition since she started out at six.”
Her father also says Fan originally took up gymnastics just to improve her health.
When she was little, he sent her to Hongwei Kindergarten to learn rhythmic gymnastics for children. However, she displayed unusual talent very quickly and eventually became a professional gymnast.
After she finishes a big competition, Fan takes a longer-than-usual holiday. But she can’t eat or drink freely like most kids do during holidays because her sport requires her to stay in shape. During this short period of unwinding, she spends quality time with her parents and plays her favorite online games before getting back into the training routine.
“If things go smoothly, she might have a shot at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in Brazil,” says Fan Bingzhu. As he sees it, his daughter still has a bright future ahead of her and will face bigger and more exciting challenges.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
