Kui YuanYuan
Encyclopedia
Kui Yuanyuan is a Chinese
Gymnast
born on June 23, 1981. She is strong on 3 events: Balance Beam, Floor Exercise and Vault. She participated in two Olympic Games
, two World
Championships and qualified for the 1998 World Cup Final. Kui shocked everyone when she became the 1996 World Champion on floor exercise (the first Chinese woman gymnast to win a world title in this event), although a fall in the semi-finals prevented her from making finals in her best event, the beam. After her unexpected win she competed at the 1996 Olympics
, finishing 4th with her team. She also recorded the highest score of the entire Olympics on the balance beam, a 9.875 during the team optionals, and in doing so, became the only gymnast to top the 9.862 scored three consecutive times by Olympic balance beam champion Shannon Miller
. Unfortunately, a fall from the beam during the team compulsories (resulting in a disastrous score of 8.925) prevented Kui from making the beam finals. She also failed to make the final in the floor exercise (where she was the world champion).
Kui went on to win two bronze medals at the 1997 Worlds
with her team and on the balance beam.
The balance beam results turned into one of the most disputed events in gymnastics history. Kui performed one of the most difficult routines of all time, yet finished .012 behind Romania's Gina Gogean, who competed one of the easiest sets performed in World competition during the 1990s. Kui's rare full-twisting back layout on the beam drew gasps, as did her three split leap
s to back handspring, 2 layout step-outs. Kui lost the silver medal as well, to Svetlana Khorkina
of Russia, when a tie-breaker was put into effect, respectively. The results prompted the president of the Federation of International Gymnastics to publicly chastise the judges and tell them they were wrong.
In 1997, Kui also became the all-around National Games Champion. Following her successful year in 1997, Kui won 2 gold medals at the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok and two medals at the World Cup Final. In 1999 Kui had an injury and could not compete. She had to miss the 1999 World Championships. She recovered in time for the 2000 Olympics
, hoping to win that elusive individual gold on the balance beam. Unfortunately, she was injured on vault during preliminaries and could not compete during the team finals. Her team finished 3rd in the end, but the medal was stripped by the IOC in 2010 after one of the Chinese team members was found to be underage during the competition. She admitted it was emotionally devastating for her to watch teammate Liu Xuan
take the beam gold in the event finals.
After retiring from gymnastcs, Kui had surgery on her knee. She attended University of International Business and Economics
, a university in Beijing to study French but dropped out after a few semesters. In March 2006, she married her boyfriend of two years, a football player. They got to know each other at a MMORPG
. A year later, she gave birth to a baby daughter. Kui remains close friends with former teammates Peng Sha (her daughter's godmother) and Bi Wenjing.
Kui is now recognized as one of the most masterful gymnasts on the balance beam, whose team optional routine in the 1996 Olympic Games is until today almost unparalleled in difficulty and execution, yet having never won a gold medal on the apparatus. She is one of many significant victims of questionable judging in artistics gymnastics during the Olympic Games that preceded the new Code of Points and the elimination of compulsory routines.
Zhonghua minzu
Zhonghua minzu , usually translated as Chinese ethnic groups or Chinese nationality, refers to the modern notion of a Chinese nationality transcending ethnic divisions, with a central identity for China as a whole...
Gymnast
Gymnast
Gymnasts are people who participate in the sports of either artistic gymnastics, trampolining, or rhythmic gymnastics.See gymnasium for the origin of the word gymnast from gymnastikos.-Female artistic:Australia...
born on June 23, 1981. She is strong on 3 events: Balance Beam, Floor Exercise and Vault. She participated in two Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
, two World
World
World is a common name for the whole of human civilization, specifically human experience, history, or the human condition in general, worldwide, i.e. anywhere on Earth....
Championships and qualified for the 1998 World Cup Final. Kui shocked everyone when she became the 1996 World Champion on floor exercise (the first Chinese woman gymnast to win a world title in this event), although a fall in the semi-finals prevented her from making finals in her best event, the beam. After her unexpected win she competed at the 1996 Olympics
Gymnastics at the 1996 Summer Olympics
At the 1996 Summer Olympics, two different gymnastics disciplines were contested: artistic gymnastics and rhythmic gymnastics. The artistic gymnastics events were held at the Georgia Dome from July 20–25 and July 28–29. The rhythmic gymnastics events were held at Stegeman Coliseum in nearby...
, finishing 4th with her team. She also recorded the highest score of the entire Olympics on the balance beam, a 9.875 during the team optionals, and in doing so, became the only gymnast to top the 9.862 scored three consecutive times by Olympic balance beam champion Shannon Miller
Shannon Miller
Shannon Lee Miller is a former artistic gymnast from Edmond, Oklahoma. She is the most decorated gymnast in U.S. History, and considered one of the greatest gymnasts the United States has ever produced...
. Unfortunately, a fall from the beam during the team compulsories (resulting in a disastrous score of 8.925) prevented Kui from making the beam finals. She also failed to make the final in the floor exercise (where she was the world champion).
Kui went on to win two bronze medals at the 1997 Worlds
1997 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The 33rd Artistic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1997.The 1997 Worlds were notable because they were the first major contest to be held after the elimination of compulsory exercises.-All-round:-Apparatus:...
with her team and on the balance beam.
The balance beam results turned into one of the most disputed events in gymnastics history. Kui performed one of the most difficult routines of all time, yet finished .012 behind Romania's Gina Gogean, who competed one of the easiest sets performed in World competition during the 1990s. Kui's rare full-twisting back layout on the beam drew gasps, as did her three split leap
Split leap
A split leap or split jump is a sequence of body movements in which a person assumes a split position after leaping or jumping from the floor, respectively, while still in the air. Split leaps and split jumps are both found in various genres of dance including acro dance, ballet and jazz dance, and...
s to back handspring, 2 layout step-outs. Kui lost the silver medal as well, to Svetlana Khorkina
Svetlana Khorkina
Svetlana Vasilyevna Khorkina is a popular Russian gymnast and seven-time Olympic medalist, who is now a deputy at the Russian State Duma. With an unprecedented nine gold, eight silver, and three bronze World Championships medals, she is one of the most successful female gymnasts of her era and has...
of Russia, when a tie-breaker was put into effect, respectively. The results prompted the president of the Federation of International Gymnastics to publicly chastise the judges and tell them they were wrong.
In 1997, Kui also became the all-around National Games Champion. Following her successful year in 1997, Kui won 2 gold medals at the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok and two medals at the World Cup Final. In 1999 Kui had an injury and could not compete. She had to miss the 1999 World Championships. She recovered in time for the 2000 Olympics
Gymnastics at the 2000 Summer Olympics
At the 2000 Summer Olympics, three different gymnastics disciplines were contested: artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, and trampoline. The artistic gymnastics and trampoline events were held at the Sydney SuperDome on September 16–25 and September 22–23, respectively...
, hoping to win that elusive individual gold on the balance beam. Unfortunately, she was injured on vault during preliminaries and could not compete during the team finals. Her team finished 3rd in the end, but the medal was stripped by the IOC in 2010 after one of the Chinese team members was found to be underage during the competition. She admitted it was emotionally devastating for her to watch teammate Liu Xuan
Liu Xuan (gymnast)
Liu Xuan is a Chinese Gymnast. She was coached by Guo Xinming and Zhang Zhen.Liu said she took up gymnastics with encouragement from her mom, who had to cease gymnastics training during her younger years because of the closure of the gym during the Cultural Revolution...
take the beam gold in the event finals.
After retiring from gymnastcs, Kui had surgery on her knee. She attended University of International Business and Economics
University of International Business and Economics
The University of International Business and Economics , is a university in Beijing, China. Currently, UIBE has over 11,000 students from China and over 2,500 international students from more than 100 countries....
, a university in Beijing to study French but dropped out after a few semesters. In March 2006, she married her boyfriend of two years, a football player. They got to know each other at a MMORPG
MMORPG
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of role-playing video games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
. A year later, she gave birth to a baby daughter. Kui remains close friends with former teammates Peng Sha (her daughter's godmother) and Bi Wenjing.
Kui is now recognized as one of the most masterful gymnasts on the balance beam, whose team optional routine in the 1996 Olympic Games is until today almost unparalleled in difficulty and execution, yet having never won a gold medal on the apparatus. She is one of many significant victims of questionable judging in artistics gymnastics during the Olympic Games that preceded the new Code of Points and the elimination of compulsory routines.