Li Ya
Encyclopedia
Li Ya is a former Chinese
gymnast
. She was a member of the Chinese team that won the team competition at the 2006 World Championships
and was a member of the 2004 Olympic Team
. During her career, she was an uneven bars
and balance beam specialist.
Li Ya has two moves named after her in the Code of Points
: the "Li Ya salto", which is a straddled Jaeger ½ release (which she usually connected to a sraddled Jaeger), and the "Li Ya dismount", which is an Arabian double-front in a piked position. She is the only Chinese female gymnast to have two moves named after her. Li retired from the national team in 2008.
. In the team final in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens she fell twice on beam scoring an 8.300 (once on her front flip and then underrotated on her double back dismount and put her hands down). Then in the event finals, she fell again on her front flip and scored a 9.050 (ranking 7th). She won the uneven bars title at the Glasgow
and Ghent
World Cup Qualifiers. She also won a bronze medal at the 2004 Glasgow World Cup Qualifier. In December 2004 Li Ya qualified to the World Cup Final in Birmingham
. She was the most successful Chinese female gymnast at the World Cup Final. She won a bronze medal on the uneven bars and a silver medal on the balance beam.
Li was briefly injured in 2005, but recovered in time to win silver medals at the 2005 Chinese National Championships and the 2005 Britain vs China Dual Meet on the uneven bars. In October, she competed at the National Games but did not win any medals. A few weeks later, she was part of China's winning team at the East Asia Games in Macau
, where she also won a gold medal on the uneven bars. She was not selected for the 2005 World Championships in Melbourne
.
She competed in the 2006 Tournament of Masters in Cottbus
, a world cup event, and won the gold medal on the uneven bars. In this event, she pioneered a difficult release-release combination, a Jaeger with a half turn directly into a Jaeger. The Jaegar with 1/2 turn release was later named for her. Li also qualified for the beam final and finished in fourth place, due to a mistake on her first skill.
She competed at the 2006 World Championships in Aarhus
, Denmark
where she was a member of the Chinese team that won the gold medal in the women's team event. She did not compete in the team final, having withdrawn from the uneven bars due to nerves sustained from a performance marred by a fall in the preliminary competition.
After this competition, Li Ya did not receive positive coverage from the press in China and was not named to the team for the 2006 Asian Games
in Doha
, Qatar
. However, she had one more chance, having qualified for bars and beam in the World Cup Finals in Brazil
, held in December. She hit her routines at this competition, winning silver on bars behind world champion Beth Tweddle
, and winning gold on the balance beam.
In 2007, Li Ya competed in the Maribor World Cup where she placed 2nd on balance beam and 1st on the uneven bars.
She announced her retirement in 2008.
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
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...
. She was a member of the Chinese team that won the team competition at the 2006 World Championships
2006 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
39th World Artistic Gymnastics Championships were held in Aarhus, Denmark from October 13 to October 21, 2006 in NRGi Arena.It was the first time the World Gymnastics Championships was organized by a Danish city...
and was a member of the 2004 Olympic Team
China at the 2004 Summer Olympics
China competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.The team won 32 gold medals and 63 medals in total ....
. During her career, she was an uneven bars
Uneven bars (gymnastics)
The uneven bars or asymmetric bars is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. It is used only by female gymnasts. It is made of a steel frame. The bars are made of fiberglass with wood coating, or less commonly wood. The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring is UB or AB, and the...
and balance beam specialist.
Li Ya has two moves named after her in the Code of Points
Code of Points (artistic gymnastics)
A Code of Points is a rulebook that defines the scoring system for each level of competition in gymnastics. There is no unified, international code of points; every oversight organization—such as FIG , NCAA Gymnastics, and most national gymnastics federations—designs and employs its own unique Code...
: the "Li Ya salto", which is a straddled Jaeger ½ release (which she usually connected to a sraddled Jaeger), and the "Li Ya dismount", which is an Arabian double-front in a piked position. She is the only Chinese female gymnast to have two moves named after her. Li retired from the national team in 2008.
Biography
Li Ya is the 2004 National Champion on the uneven bars as well as the 2004 National All Around Silver Medalist. She had a great deal of success in the 2004 World Cup Circuit despite a bad showing at the 2004 OlympicsGymnastics at the 2004 Summer Olympics
At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, three disciplines of gymnastics were contested: artistic gymnastics , rhythmic gymnastics and trampoline...
. In the team final in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens she fell twice on beam scoring an 8.300 (once on her front flip and then underrotated on her double back dismount and put her hands down). Then in the event finals, she fell again on her front flip and scored a 9.050 (ranking 7th). She won the uneven bars title at the Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
and Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
World Cup Qualifiers. She also won a bronze medal at the 2004 Glasgow World Cup Qualifier. In December 2004 Li Ya qualified to the World Cup Final in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. She was the most successful Chinese female gymnast at the World Cup Final. She won a bronze medal on the uneven bars and a silver medal on the balance beam.
Li was briefly injured in 2005, but recovered in time to win silver medals at the 2005 Chinese National Championships and the 2005 Britain vs China Dual Meet on the uneven bars. In October, she competed at the National Games but did not win any medals. A few weeks later, she was part of China's winning team at the East Asia Games in Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
, where she also won a gold medal on the uneven bars. She was not selected for the 2005 World Championships in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
.
She competed in the 2006 Tournament of Masters in Cottbus
Cottbus
Cottbus is a city in Brandenburg, Germany, situated around southeast of Berlin, on the River Spree. As of , its population was .- History :...
, a world cup event, and won the gold medal on the uneven bars. In this event, she pioneered a difficult release-release combination, a Jaeger with a half turn directly into a Jaeger. The Jaegar with 1/2 turn release was later named for her. Li also qualified for the beam final and finished in fourth place, due to a mistake on her first skill.
She competed at the 2006 World Championships in Aarhus
Aarhus
Aarhus or Århus is the second-largest city in Denmark. The principal port of Denmark, Aarhus is on the east side of the peninsula of Jutland in the geographical center of Denmark...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
where she was a member of the Chinese team that won the gold medal in the women's team event. She did not compete in the team final, having withdrawn from the uneven bars due to nerves sustained from a performance marred by a fall in the preliminary competition.
After this competition, Li Ya did not receive positive coverage from the press in China and was not named to the team for the 2006 Asian Games
2006 Asian Games
The 15th Asian Games, officially known as the XV Asiad, is Asia's Olympic-style sporting event that was held in Doha, Qatar from December 1 to December 15, 2006. Doha was the first city in its region and only the second in West Asia to host the games...
in Doha
Doha
Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
, Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
. However, she had one more chance, having qualified for bars and beam in the World Cup Finals in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, held in December. She hit her routines at this competition, winning silver on bars behind world champion Beth Tweddle
Beth Tweddle
Elizabeth "Beth" Kimberly Tweddle MBE is an English gymnast. Tweddle is a three time world champion having won the 2010 World Championships and 2006 World Championshipson the uneven bars and the 2009 World Championships on the floor...
, and winning gold on the balance beam.
In 2007, Li Ya competed in the Maribor World Cup where she placed 2nd on balance beam and 1st on the uneven bars.
She announced her retirement in 2008.
2007 season
| Year | Competition Description | Location | Apparatus | Rank-Final | Score-Final | Rank-Qualifying | Score-Qualifying |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | World Cup/Series | MARIBOR | Balance Beam | 2 | 14.350 | 8 | 14.000 |
| Uneven Bar | 1 | 16.025 | 1 | 15.500 | |||
2006 season
| Year | Competition Description | Location | Apparatus | Rank-Final | Score-Final | Rank-Qualifying | Score-Qualifying |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | World Championships | Aarhus | All Around | 188 | 28.425 | ||
| Balance Beam | 65 | 13.975 | |||||
| Team | 1 | 182.200 | 2 | 239.525 | |||
| Uneven Bars | 32 | 14.450 | |||||
| World Cup/Series | Cottbus | Balance Beam | 4 | 14.800 | |||
| Uneven Bars | 1 | 15.800 | |||||
| World Cup/Series | Ghent | Uneven Bar | 1 | 15.725 | |||
| World Cup/Series | Shanghai | Balance Beam | 2 | 15.450 | |||
| World Cup/Series | São Paulo | Balance Beam | 1 | 15.625 | |||
| Uneven Bar | 2 | 16.225 | |||||
2004 season
| Year | Competition Description | Location | Apparatus | Rank-Final | Score-Final | Rank-Qualifying | Score-Qualifying |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 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... |
Athens | All Around | 65 | 28.412 | ||
| Balance Beam | 7 | 9.050 | 6 | 9.600 | |||
| Team | 7 | 110.008 | 3 | 151.085 | |||
| Uneven Bars | 5 | 9.562 | 3 | 9.675 | |||
| World Cup/Series Final | Birmingham | Balance Beam | 2 | 9.612 | |||
| Uneven Bar | 3 | 9.600 | |||||
| World Cup/Series | Glasgow | Balance Beam | 3 | 9.325 | |||
| Uneven Bar | 1 | 9.500 | |||||
| World Cup/Series | Ghent | Balance Beam | 4 | 9.375 | |||
| Uneven Bar | 1 | 9.712 | |||||
2003 season
| Year | Competition Description | Location | Apparatus | Rank-Final | Score-Final | Rank-Qualifying | Score-Qualifying |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | World Championships | Anaheim | Balance Beam | 4 | 9.450 | ||
| Team | 4 | 110.259 | 1 | 148.671 | |||