Gong Lijiao Explained
Gong Lijiao (; born 24 January 1989) is a Chinese Olympic shot putter and the 2020 Olympic champion in that event. A five-time Olympic player and a three-time Olympic medalist, she holds a record eight medals at the World Athletics Championships, including two World titles.[1]
Career
She finished seventh at the 2007 World Championships, her international debut. At the 2008 Summer Olympics she finished fifth but received the bronze medal later after two competitors were stripped of their medals because of doping violations.
She set a personal best throw of 19.46 metres in the qualifying round of the 2008 Olympics; this was the furthest mark for a female Chinese shot putter for over a decade. At the 2009 National Games of China, Gong further improved her personal best to 19.82 m, taking her to tenth place on the all-time Chinese shot putter's list.[2]
She won the bronze medal at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin with a personal best of 19.89 metres.[3]
She won the gold medal at the 2009 National Games of China in Jinan with a personal best of 20.35 metres.[4]
She won the gold medal at the 2009 Asian Athletics Championships in Guangzhou with a personal best of 19.04 metres.
Gong initially finished fourth in the London 2012 Summer Olympics, but was retroactively awarded the bronze medal after the winner, Nadzeya Astapchuk, was disqualified for failing a drug test.[5] On 20 August 2016, the IOC announced that Yevgeniya Kolodko, the Russian silver medalist, failed an anti-doping test and Gong was therefore upgraded to the silver.[6]
In 2018, Gong won the gold medal in women's shot put during the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia.[7]
In 2021, she won the gold medal in women's shot put at the 2020 Summer Olympics In Tokyo with her personal best of 20.58 m,[8] thereby becoming the first Chinese athlete to be crowned the Olympic champion in any field event and the first athlete from Asia to win an Olympic gold medal in women's shot put.[9]
At the 2023 World Athletic Championships, Gong won the bronze medal after tying Portuguese thrower Auriol Dongmo's best throw of 19.69 metres and prevailing on countback. This was her eighth World medal, breaking Ezekiel Kemboi's record for the most medals by an athlete at the championships.[1]
In 2024, Gong participated the women's shot put event in the 2024 Summer Olympics, and became a fifth-time Olympic player. She finished the fifth in the final with a distance of 19.27m. In her five-time Olympic Games, she won a gold, a silver, a bronze medal, a fourth place, and a fifth place.
International competitions
| Representing |
|---|
| 2007 | World Championships | Osaka, Japan | 6th | 18.66 m |
| 2008 | Asian Indoor Championships | Doha, Qatar | bgcolor=gold | 1st | 18.12 m |
| Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 3rd | 19.20 m |
| 2009 | World Championships | Berlin, Germany | 3rd | 19.89 m |
| Asian Championships | Guangzhou, China | bgcolor=gold | 1st | 19.04 m |
| 2010 | World Indoor Championships | Doha, Qatar | 6th | 18.64 m |
| Continental Cup | Split, Croatia | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | 20.13 m |
| Asian Games | Guangzhou, China | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | 19.67 m |
| 2011 | World Championships | Daegu, South Korea | 3rd | 19.97 m |
| 2012 | Olympic Games | London, United Kingdom | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | 20.22 m |
| 2013 | World Championships | Moscow, Russia | 3rd | 19.95 m |
| 2014 | World Indoor Championships | Sopot, Poland | 3rd | 19.24 m |
| Continental Cup | Marrakesh, Morocco | bgcolor=gold | 1st | 19.23 m |
| Asian Games | Incheon, South Korea | bgcolor=gold | 1st | 19.06 m |
| 2015 | World Championships | Beijing, China | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | 20.30 m |
| 2016 | Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 4th | 19.39 m |
| 2017 | World Championships | London, United Kingdom | bgcolor=gold | 1st | 19.94 m |
| 2018 | World Indoor Championships | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 3rd | 19.08 m |
| Asian Games | Jakarta, Indonesia | bgcolor=gold | 1st | 19.66 m |
| Continental Cup | Ostrava, Czech Republic | bgcolor=gold | 1st | 19.63 m |
| 2019 | Asian Championships | Doha, Qatar | bgcolor=gold | 1st | 19.18 m |
| World Championships | Doha, Qatar | bgcolor=gold | 1st | 19.55 m |
| 2021 | Olympic Games | Tokyo, Japan | bgcolor=gold | 1st | |
| 2022 | World Championships | Eugene, United States | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | 20.39 m |
| 2023 | World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 3rd | 19.69 m |
| Asian Games | Hangzhou, China | bgcolor=gold | 1st | 19.58 m |
| 2024 | Olympic Games | Paris, France | 5th | 19.27 m | |
Notes and References
- News: American Ealey wins shot put gold again, Gong claims eighth successive medal. Reuters. 26 August 2023. 28 August 2023.
- News: Jalava, Mirko. 13 April 2009. Gong Lijiao improves to 19.82m in Shot Put – Chinese outdoor season begins. IAAF. 14 October 2019.
- Web site: 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics - Berlin 2009 - Timetable/Results - 08-16-2009 . berlin.iaaf.org . 12 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120815110958/http://berlin.iaaf.org/results/racedate=08-16-2009/sex=W/discCode=SP/combCode=hash/roundCode=f/results.html#detW_SP_hash_f . 15 August 2012 . dead.
- Web site: Tilastopaja Oy Result Service . www.tilastopaja.org . 12 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120225051203/http://www.tilastopaja.org/staticresults/12790226.htm . 25 February 2012 . dead.
- News: IOC withdraws gold medal from shot put athlete Nadzeya Ostapchuk. Olympic News. 13 August 2012. 14 October 2019.
- News: IOC sanctions Evgeniia Kolodko for failing anti-doping test at London 2012. Olympic News. 20 August 2016. 14 October 2019.
- News: Gong Lijiao wins women's shot put final at Asian Games. https://web.archive.org/web/20180901054628/http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-08/27/c_137423022.htm. dead. 1 September 2018. Xinhua. 27 August 2018. 14 October 2019.
- News: . A Chinese gold medalist was asked about her "masculine" appearance, prompting outrage. . August 5, 2021 . Tiffany . May . Elsie . Chen . https://archive.today/20210805145835/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/05/sports/olympics/gong-lijiao-shot-put-china.html#selection-557.0-560.0 . August 5, 2021.
- Web site: Athletics - Final Results. Tokyo Olympics Official Website. 2021-08-01. 1 August 2021. 2 August 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210802041656/https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/en/results/athletics/result-women-s-shot-put-fnl-000100-.htm. dead.
