Lu Li was fifteen years old — or so the record showed — when she mounted the uneven bars at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and earned a perfect 10.0, becoming the first gymnast from Hunan province to win an Olympic gold medal and the second Chinese female gymnast to do so, following in the footsteps of Ma Yanhong.
The interview below, published in August 2006 by the Hunan Daily and translated here from Chinese, finds Lu Li fourteen years later — living in Gilroy, California, coaching alongside her husband, and reflecting on her career and her relationship to the sport: driven by curiosity rather than obligation, and by a stubbornness she wears as a point of pride. She crossed half of Changsha alone at age six to sneak into a gymnasium. She arrived at Peking University having never attended regular school and insisted on being treated like any other student. The interview is, among other things, a portrait of that temperament — and of what became of a champion after the spotlight moved on.
One detail is worth noting before reading. The article lists her birth year as 1977. With a late-August birthday, she would have still been fourteen at the time of the Olympics, turning fifteen weeks later. Her official competition record, however, lists a birth year of 1976, making her fifteen in Barcelona, turning sixteen weeks later. Why her birth year was altered is unclear, particularly since her real birth year of 1977 would have made her age-eligible for the 1992 Olympics. (It is my understanding that she uses a 1977 birth year in the United States.)
At any rate, enjoy the interview below!
Success Comes from Interest
An interview with Lu Li, the first Olympic gold medalist in Hunan’s history
August 29, 2006
Source: Hunan Daily
When the cheerful laughter of Lu Li came through the other end of the overseas phone call, time seemed to rewind fourteen years.
On August 2, 1992, at the Barcelona Olympic Games, Lu Li floated lightly between the uneven bars. After completing the innovative, high-difficulty element named after her—the “Lu Li” salto—she landed softly on the mat like a small swallow gliding to earth.
When the six judges simultaneously displayed the perfect score of “10.0,” the arena, after a brief moment of breath-holding silence, erupted in thunderous applause. At that same moment, enthusiasm in her hometown also burst into flame, because Lu Li had just made history as the first Olympic gold medalist from Hunan.
Fourteen years have passed in the blink of an eye, and Lu Li has gradually faded from public view. How is she doing now? With that question in mind, the reporter conducted a phone interview with her in late August.
Interest and Determination Conquer Everything
Born in 1977, Lu Li is a stubborn native of Changsha. From the age of five, she spent her days in the gymnasium pushing her body to its limits. By the time she entered the national team in 1991, she was always striving to do more than others.
What she did not realize was that she had contracted liver disease at a young age. As her health deteriorated, training loads that might be normal for others became double—or more—for her body.
Yet when she spoke about that period during the phone call, she did so lightly: “I love gymnastics. Whenever I encounter the challenge of a new skill, a sense of curiosity always drives me to conquer it.”
This interest and curiosity were so strong that at the age of six she would cross half the city of Changsha alone, sneaking off to the gym to train. By twelve, she had essentially mastered the “Lu Li” salto, an innovative combination incorporating difficult elements from the men’s horizontal bar.
Even at the Olympic Games, when she stood on the podium wearing a gleaming gold medal, there were no tears of emotion in her eyes—only curiosity and excitement greater than anyone else’s.
After the Barcelona Olympics, Lu Li retired at age seventeen due to health reasons, and the following year she entered the School of International Relations at Peking University.
Since she had never attended regular school as a child, did she feel worried or uncertain?
She gave the same answer: “I was full of curiosity about studying. I knew it would be difficult, but athletes are people who face difficulties head-on.”
Although the university offered her many preferential policies, the stubborn Lu Li insisted that the school treat her exactly the same as other students.
“Only that way can I truly learn something. I don’t require myself to get excellent grades, but I must at least pass.”
When asked why she went to the United States after graduation, she laughed.
“Actually, my motivation for coming to the U.S. was very simple—I wanted to learn English well.”
Lu Li enjoys communicating with people, and languages became her greatest academic interest during university. Besides English, she even put considerable effort into learning Cantonese.
Because she had never studied English systematically like her classmates, no matter how hard she worked she could not reach the level she wanted. After graduating in 1999, driven by her fascination with English, curiosity about the outside world, and her unwillingness to give up, she set off for the United States and began a new chapter in life.
A Love for Gymnastics That Cannot Be Let Go
After arriving in the United States, Lu Li first worked as a coach at a gymnastics club while continuing to study English. She successfully trained a group of young athletes.
Even happier was that she met her current husband there: Kim Gussenhoven. Kim is also a gymnastics coach and had been U.S. national vault champion three times. He is helpful by nature, and he and Lu Li share many similar ideas about coaching.
The two soon became close. They married in 2003, and the following year welcomed a lovely baby boy. By then, Lu Li’s health had also recovered.
Lu Li and Kim established their own gymnastics club at the end of 2000, naming it AAC, meaning All-Around Champion Club. In September 2005, the family moved to Gilroy, California, where AAC gained a permanent training facility and improved equipment.
Chinese gymnastics traditionally emphasizes upper-body strength, which is why Lu Li excelled on the uneven bars. American gymnastics, by contrast, focuses more on lower-body power, and Kim specializes in vault.
Together, they provide recreational and beginner gymnastics training for local children. Their expertise complements each other perfectly.
Concern for Chinese Gymnastics
What Lu Li cannot forget most, however, is the development of gymnastics in China and in Hunan.
When speaking about the Chinese team’s disappointing performance at the 2004 Athens Olympics and the rise of the U.S. gymnastics team, she offered several thoughts.
She believes that the American team carefully studied its athletes’ weaknesses in upper-body training and strengthened that area, reducing China’s traditional advantage. At the same time, the U.S. team continued innovating within its own strengths—for example in lower-body power training and music choreography for floor exercise—which further narrowed the gap between the two countries.
In addition, the American system selects athletes through two channels:
- Competition results, and
- Coaches’ recommendations based on training
China has done somewhat less in the first area. As a result, it may select athletes who perform well in training, but not necessarily those who perform best in competition—in other words, gymnasts whose psychological resilience in competition may not be strong enough.
Finally, Lu Li expressed her hope that Chinese athletes preparing for the 2008 Olympic Games would achieve excellent results, and she very much hopes to go to Beijing to cheer them on.
She also expressed deep gratitude to all the coaches and teammates who had helped her.
In her personal life, she hopes that her father can obtain a U.S. visa as soon as possible to reunite with her, so that after her mother’s passing she can fulfill more of her filial duty toward him.
—
Note: Lu Li currently lives in Washington state.
成功源自兴趣——访湖南奥运史上首金获得者陆莉
2006年08月29日
来源：红网－湖南日报
本报记者 李宁 当越洋电话的另一端传来陆莉爽朗的笑声，时间似乎又回到了14年前。1992年8月2日的巴塞罗那奥运会赛场上，陆莉轻盈地在高低杠之间翻飞，完成以她名字命名的高难度创新动作“陆莉”空翻后，像小燕子一样轻巧地飞落在地上。 当6名裁判同时亮出满分“10分”时，全场观众在屏气凝神的短暂寂静之后迸发出了雷鸣般的掌声，家乡人民的热情也在这一刻燃烧了起来，因为这意味着陆莉作为湖南奥运史上首金的获得者被载入史册。 转眼就是匆匆十四载，陆莉也逐渐淡出了大家的视线。她现在还好吗？记者带着这样的疑问于8月下旬对她进行了电话采访。 兴趣和倔强战胜一切 1977年出生的陆莉是一个倔强的长沙人。她从5岁开始就整天泡在体育馆里挑战自己的身体极限，直到1991年进入国家队，她总是努力比别人做得更多。但是她并不清楚自己很小就被感染了肝病，健康状况的恶化使得正常人一倍的训练对她的身体负荷而言是两倍或者更多。 她在电话里说起这段往事时，却轻松地说：“我喜欢体操，每当我遇到一个新动作的挑战时，总有一股好奇心驱使我去征服它。”这种兴趣和好奇心是如此之强，使得她6岁就独自一人横跨半个长沙市，偷偷跑去体育馆训练，12岁就已经基本掌握了“陆莉”空翻的技巧，这是一套融合了当时男子单杠高难度动作的创新。就是在奥运赛场上，当她挂着金灿灿的金牌时，眼里没有激动的泪水，却比别人多了一份好奇和兴奋。 巴塞罗那奥运会之后，17岁的陆莉因为健康原因不得不退役，翌年去北京大学国际关系学院读书。陆莉从小就没有正式上学，当时有没有担心和疑虑？她还是那句话：“我对读书充满了好奇，虽然知道会很难，但是我们运动员都是知难而上的人。”她进入北大时有许多的优惠政策，但是倔强的她却要求学校像对待其他同学一样地对待自己。陆莉说：“只有这样我才能真正学到东西。我不要求自己的成绩很好，但一定要合格。” 当记者问她为什么会在毕业之后去美国时，她咯咯地笑了起来，“其实我来美国的动机很简单，就是为了要学好英语。”原来陆莉喜欢与人交流，语言成了她在大学期间最感兴趣的学习方向，不仅是英语，甚至连粤语也成了她花心思的攻克对象。由于她不像其他同学那样按部就班地学习过英语，无论她怎么努力也不能达到理想的水平。1999年毕业后，她因为对英语的着迷，对外面世界的好奇和不服输的倔强，踏上了前往美国的旅途，开始了一段新的人生。 无法割舍的体操情 陆莉赴美国后最开始在一家体操俱乐部担任体操教练、学习英语，并成功地带出了一批小运动员。更加幸福的是，她在那里遇到了她现在的丈夫肯姆•加森霍温。肯姆也是一名体操教练，曾3次获得美国跳马全国冠军。他乐于助人，而且与陆莉在一些训练理念上有很多不谋而合的地方，两人很快就走到了一起，并于2003年结婚，次年有了一个可爱的小男孩，陆莉的身体也恢复了健康。 陆莉与肯姆于2000年底建立起了自己的体操俱乐部，取名叫AAC，意思是全能冠军俱乐部。2005年9月他们一家搬到了加利福尼亚州的吉尔洛市，AAC有了固定的场所，设施也得以完善。 中国体操历来注重上肢力量的训练，因此陆莉在高低杠上成绩突出。美国体操则偏重下肢力量的训练，而肯姆正是跳马健将。两人在一起为当地小孩提供娱乐性和初级体操培训，可谓是互补所短，相得益彰。 但是陆莉最念念不忘的还是中国和湖南的体操发展。提起中国体操队在2004年雅典奥运会上的失利，和美国体操队的崛起，她谈了一些自己的看法。 她认为，由于美国队认真研究了队员在上肢训练上的弱点，并且加强了这方面的训练，使得中国队原有优势不再明显；另一方面，美国队在自己传统优势上不断创新，例如在下肢力量训练、自由体操中的音乐编排等方面，使得美国队进一步缩小了与中国队的差距。 另外，美国队选苗子从两方面入手，一是通过各种比赛来看成绩，另外是通过训练来看教练的推荐。而中国体操前者做得相对不足一些，这样容易选出来一些训练型选手，而不是比赛型选手。也就是说，选手训练成绩可能很好，而比赛时心理素质不过硬。 最后，陆莉希望正在备战2008年奥运会的中国运动员能够在赛场上取得好成绩，并非常希望能届时到北京为他们加油。她非常感谢曾经帮助过她的所有教练和伙伴。生活上，她则希望自己的父亲能尽快得到美国签证与自己团聚，这样她就能在母亲过世后多为父亲尽一份孝心。
Appendix A: Lu Li’s 1992 Victory
A Golden Swallow on the Bars—A Brief Account of Lu Li’s Uneven Bars Victory
People’s Daily, August 3, 1992, Page 4
By reporter Guo Weicheng
Little Lu Li, wearing a blue leotard with a dazzling national emblem on her chest, calmly walked onto the uneven bars platform. She ran up, jumped, and flew onto the bars like a little swallow. Before the audience’s eyes had even settled, Lu Li had already executed a beautiful forward giant circle, followed by a 360-degree turn. Then, in a reverse grip position, she performed an inverted hang circle, followed by a front flip to catch. At this moment, the crowded audience erupted in cheers. Continuing, little Lu Li executed an arc turn of 180 degrees, followed by three consecutive high-difficulty moves: flight circle, straddle circle, handstand—both beautiful and thrilling, dazzling to watch. Finally, she performed a straight double back somersault, nailed to the ground. Immediately, thunderous applause filled the venue.
Lu Li happily raised her hands to acknowledge the audience and bounced and skipped off the platform. At that moment, the huge electronic scoreboard lit up brilliantly: “Lu Li, 10.000.” The judging panel, composed of six gymnastics experts from Bulgaria, Portugal, Hungary, Israel, Germany, and Italy, unanimously awarded Lu Li a perfect score. The Sant Jordi Gymnastics Hall cheered for Lu Li once again. In this competition that gathered contemporary women’s gymnastics superstars including Boginskaya and Zmeskal, Chinese girl Lu Li became the first champion to earn a perfect score with her flawless performance.
This set of high-difficulty moves was first created by Lu Li and her coach. In April of this year at the World Cup individual gymnastics competition in Paris, the routine was officially named after “Lu Li.” Unfortunately, that time Lu Li didn’t land steadily when dismounting and only received a score of 9.875, placing fourth. After returning home, Lu Li regretted it for quite a while. After all, that was Lu Li’s first international gymnastics competition. In recent days, good news kept coming from the Chinese delegation, and Lu Li had several dreams—not of wearing gold or silver medals, but of coming down from the uneven bars with both feet nailing the landing.
Little Lu Li’s dream was finally perfectly realized.
(From Barcelona, August 1)
杠上衔金纤纤燕
——陆莉高低杠夺冠小记
本报记者郭伟成
小陆莉身穿蓝色的体操服，胸前缀着耀眼的国徽，从容地走上高低杠赛台。助跑、起跳，像小燕子似地飞上了高低杠。观众眼神甫定，陆莉已经做了个漂亮的向前大回环，再来个转体360度；然后，成扭臂握杠姿势，接反吊回环，再接前空翻抓杠。这时，万头攒动的观众席上发出一片喝采声。再看小陆莉，已经接着来了个弧形转体180度，又连续3个高难动作：腾身回环，分腿回环，手倒立，既漂亮又惊险，令人目不暇接。最后她来了个直体后空翻2周，稳稳当当地钉在地上。顿时，全场响起雷鸣般的掌声。
陆莉高兴地举手向观众致意，蹦蹦跳跳地跑下台去。这时，硕大的电子记分牌上发出了耀眼的光亮：“陆莉，10．000”。由保加利亚、葡萄牙、匈牙利、以色列、德国、意大利的6位体操专家组成的裁判团，一致给陆莉打了满分。圣豪尔迪体操馆里又一次为陆莉欢呼起来。在荟萃了包括博金斯卡娅、兹梅斯卡尔等一批当代女子体操巨星的本次大赛上，中国小姑娘陆莉成为第一个以其完美动作而赢得满分的冠军。
陆莉的这一套高难动作，是她和她的教练首创的。今年4月在巴黎举行的世界杯单项体操比赛中，该套动作被正式以“陆莉”的名字命名。可惜，那一次陆莉在下杠时没有站稳，只得了9．875分，名列第四。回国后，陆莉懊悔了好一阵。那毕竟是陆莉第一次出征国际体操大赛。近几天来，中国代表团捷报频传，陆莉做了好几回梦，不过，不是梦见胸前挂上了金银奖牌，而是梦见自己从高低杠上下来时，双脚都站得稳稳当当的。
小陆莉的梦终于完美地实现了。
（本报巴塞罗那8月1日电）
Appendix B: How Her Liver Problem Was Reported at the Time
The Ailing Swallow Dreams of Flight—Little Lu Li
People’s Daily, August 12, 1994, Page 11
By Miao Saiwang
Two years have passed since the Barcelona Olympics, and uneven bars gold medalist Lu Li seems to have been forgotten. Recently, she appeared at the Changsha Political Institute’s “Ling Gong” training class, wearing appropriate athletic clothing and with her familiar, lively face.
[Note: Ling Gong is a type of therapeutic physical conditioning that combines breathing, controlled movement, and mental focus to cultivate internal energy (qi), improve health, and enhance physical and mental discipline.]
It turned out that during a physical examination at the beginning of the year, a shadow was discovered on her liver. Combined with a torn ligament in her left foot from training last May that had not healed, she was forced to suspend training and return to her home province of Hunan for treatment.
In daily life, Lu Li gives the impression of being optimistic, cheerful, talkative, easy-going, and enterprising.
During her recuperation, while receiving treatment and maintaining physical exercise, she seized every opportunity to study at the Yingda Foreign Language School English class.
She said: “Leaving the training ground and looking at society, I truly recognized the lack of my own knowledge and became aware of the importance of studying and learning.”
Lu Li said with some regret: “For gymnastics, I left school and the classroom too early, incurring too much educational debt that I shouldn’t have. I envy others who can study on such elegant, quiet campuses. Going to university is also my greatest wish. Now that I’m on medical leave at home with time, I want to use it as reasonably as possible, striving to learn more and enrich myself. The golden age of a gymnast is extremely brief. When I retire in the future, I definitely want to return to campus. Championships are yesterday’s glory, past history. I cannot and do not wish to spend my whole life resting on my laurels, unable to do anything besides gymnastics. I’m only 17 years old, and the road ahead is still very long. In a certain sense, life’s journey has only just begun.”
Always dressed in athletic wear, Lu Li explained her choice of clothing: “I love athletic clothing just as soldiers love wearing uniforms, for the same reason, the same feeling. Half is due to professional preference, half is from the established and fixed affection for the clothing itself. Wearing athletic clothes constantly reminds me that I am an athlete and cannot forget physical training and moral cultivation for even a moment.
“I’m participating in ‘Ling Gong’ training so that my body can recover as soon as possible and I can win several more gold medals for the country with my limited athletic life. Watching the Hiroshima Asian Games approach while my body is still in this condition, I feel a sense of urgency, and it’s particularly strong.”
病燕思飞小陆莉
缪腮旺
巴塞罗那奥运会已经过去两年，高低杠金牌得主陆莉似乎已被人淡忘。不久前，她身着得体的运动衣，和着她那张熟悉而生动的脸庞出现在长沙政治学院“灵功”训练班上。
原来，她年初在体检时肝部发现阴影，加之去年５月在训练中左脚韧带撕裂，一直没有痊愈，不得不中止训练，暂回湖南老家治疗。
生活中的陆莉，给人的印象是乐观开朗、健谈随和而富于进取。
休养期间，她一边接受治疗，坚持锻炼身体，一边见缝插针地参加英达外国语学校英语班学习。
她说：“离开了训练场，到社会上看一看，才真正认识到自己知识的贫乏，意识到读书、学习的重要性。”
陆莉带着些许遗憾说：“为了体操，我过早离开了学校，离开了课堂，欠下了太多不该欠下的学业上的债务。我很羡慕别人能在这么幽雅、宁静的校园里学习。上大学，也是我最大的愿望。现在病休在家，有了时间，我要尽可能合理地利用起来，争取多学点东西，充实自己。体操运动员的黄金时代是极其短暂的，将来退下来以后，我一定要争取重返校园。冠军是昨天的辉煌，过去的历史，我不可能，也不愿意躺在功劳簿上过一辈子，不能除了体操便无其他作为。我才１７岁，以后的路还很长很长，从某种意义上说，人生的旅程刚刚举步迈出。”
总是一袭运动着装的陆莉对自己的服饰解释说：“我爱运动服装就如同军人爱穿军装，出于一样的道理，同种感受，一半是因为职业上的偏爱，一半是对服装本身形成和固定的感情。穿着运动服，便会时刻提醒自己是运动员，须臾不能忘记体能锻炼、道德修养。
“参加‘灵功’训练，就是为了身体早日康复，用有限的运动生命为国家多拿几枚金牌。眼看着广岛亚运会开赛在即，身体还是这个样子，我心中有紧迫感，而且特别强烈。”
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