Liu Shaolin

When and where did you begin this sport?

He took up short track in 2005 in Budapest, Hungary.

Other information

REPRESENTING CHINA He began representing the People's Republic of China in mid-2023. (ISU, 12 Oct 2023) BROTHER He credits the importance of his younger brother Shaoang Liu in his career. Shaolin finished first while his brother placed second in the 1000m at the 2021 World Championships in Dordrecht, Netherlands. "Our father always said that as I was older I would pay attention to my brother, help him, and get the best out of everything. I promised this, but it is mutual because I feel he is always trying to help, and trying to be the best brother. I never felt he would have been envious of any of my achievements, like I have never been of him. Dad always said it doesn't matter who gets the gold medal, but keep it in the family. So, everything we own we share it." (redbull.com, 06 Jul 2021, 13 Mar 2021; hungarytoday.hu, 08 Mar 2021; medium.com, 17 Feb 2018; origo.hu, 14 Feb 2017; blikk.hu, 08 Mar 2013) CHINESE TRAINING He and his younger brother Shaoang Liu were born to a Chinese father and a Hungarian mother, and had the opportunity to train in the People's Republic of China early in their careers. "We were really lucky. When we started there was a world championships in Hungary [in 2006] and the Chinese team came. My father, being Chinese, started speaking with them, helped with different things in Hungary and getting to know the country. They said since his two sons were Chinese they should come and train in China. It sounded good to him so he decided to take the chance to bring us to China and we trained there for one-and-a-half years. It was tough. Physically and mentally. In Hungary, we had one or two ice sessions per week, and in China we had two ice sessions a day. It was a whole different experience. The locals were just like machines - there are millions of skaters there and they want to build champions. It's like a factory. Before our results weren't really good. After that time we came back from China and we won every competition." (olympics.com, 21 Oct 2021; redbull.com, 06 Jul 2021, 13 Mar 2021; medium.com, 17 Feb 2018; isu.org, 14 Feb 2017)

Reason for choosing this sport

He took up the sport together with his younger brother. "Before we were swimming. We did that for one or two years but we always got sick from the water and used to always have a cold. It was more bad than good for us so we tried to swap to another sport. We were looking for different choices in Hungary and we just found short track. I don't know how it happened. I'd never heard about speed skating and loved it, although I don't think we were very talented."

Most influential person in career	His family, especially his brother, and coach Zhang Jing. (Athlete, 09 Nov 2018; english.news.cn, 13 Jul 2022; Instagram profile, 08 Aug 2022)
Hero / Idol	Short track skater [and his brother] Shaoang Liu, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt. (Athlete, 09 Nov 2018)
Sporting philosophy / motto	"Never let haters get you down." (Athlete, 13 Jan 2017)
Famous relatives	His younger brother Shaoang Liu has competed in short track internationally. Representing Hungary, he was part of the 5000m relay team that won gold at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. He also won gold [500m] and two bronze medals [2000m mixed relay and 1000m] at the 2022 Games in Beijing, before switching to represent People's Republic of China in 2023. (hungarytoday.hu, 14 Feb 2022; SportsDeskOnline, 27 Oct 2022; index.hu, 10 Jul 2017; Athlete, 13 Jan 2017)

www.facebook.com/Shaolin-Sandor-Liu-1174754759309932/
twitter.com/ShaolinLiu

Memorable sporting achievement	Winning gold in the 5000m relay at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. (Skating ISU YouTube channel, 19 Mar 2021; Athlete, 09 Nov 2018)
Milestones	Prior to representing People's Republic of China, he was part of the men's 5000m relay team that won Hungary's first gold medal in any sport at the Olympic Winter Games by claiming victory at the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang. (OIS, 22 Feb 2018; SportsDeskOnline, 23 Dec 2020)
Awards and honours	He was named the 2018 Sportsman of the Year by the Hungarian Sports Journalists' Association. (hungarytoday.hu, 15 Feb 2019)
Injuries	He tested positive for COVID-19 twice in 2020. He experienced symptoms of the virus on both occasions and missed significant training time. (Skating ISU YouTube channel, 19 Mar 2021; ulloi129.hu, 09 Nov 2020; hungarytoday.hu, 18 Sep 2020)