Fu Mingxia
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Fu Mingxia (Chinese: 伏明霞, pinyin: Fú Míngxiá) was born on August 16, 1978 in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. She is a top female diver, multiple Olympics gold medalist and world champion. She is about 1.58m tall (5'2"). She broke numerous records in her remarkable diving career. Fu Mingxia's family appears to be a typical Chinese family consisting of her working-class parents and an elder sister. At an early age, Fu Mingxia learned to swim at a nearby river under the instruction of her father, Fu Yijun. She started gymnastics at age 5, soon switching to diving. Fu Mingxia left home at age 9 to train in Beijing.
Fu Mingxia won her first world champion title in 1991 at the World Swimming Championships. At age 12, she became the youngest world champion ever. In 1992 at the 25th Olympic Games held in Barcelona, Fu Mingxia became the youngest Olympic champion ever when she won the 10-meter platform gold at the age of 13. That prompted the international governing body to rule divers must turn 14 by the year of Olympic, World Championship or World Cup competition to participate. Fu also won the 10-meter platform gold in both the 1993 and 1994 World Championships and the 3-meter springboard gold in the 95 World Championships.
In 1996, when Fu Mingxia was 17 years old, she again made history at the 26th Olympic Games in Atlanta by capturing both the 10-meter platform gold and the 3-meter springboard gold. In doing so, she equalled the achievements of Germany's Ingrid Kraemer in the 1960 Rome Olympics, becoming only the fourth female to capture both titles.
Awards and accomplishments
- 1990 Goodwill Games - 10m platform 1st (11 years old)
- 1991 World Swimming Championships - 10m platform 1st (12 years old)
- 1992 Olympic Games - 10m platform 1st (13 years old)
- 1993 World Swimming Championships - 10m platform 1st (14 years old)
- FINA Diving World Cup - 3m springboard 3rd (14 years old)
- 1994 World Swimming Championships - 10m platform 1st (15 years old)
- 1995 World Swimming Championships - 10m platform 2nd (16 years old)
- FINA Diving World Cup - 10m platform 2nd (17 years old)
- FINA Diving World Cup - 3m springboard 1st (17 years old)
- 1996 World Swimming Championships - 3m springboard 1st (17 years old)
- 1996 Olympic Games - 10m platform 1st (17 years old)
- 1996 Olympic Games - 3m springboard 1st (17 years old)
- 1999 University Games - 10m platform 1st (20 years old)
- University Games - 3m springboard 1st (20 years old)
- 2000 FINA Diving World Cup - 3m springboard 2nd (21 years old)
- 2000 Olympic Games - 3m springboard synchronized (with Guo Jingjing) 2nd (22 years old)
- 2000 Olympic Games - 3m springboard 1st (22 years old)
Marriage to Antony Leung
Fu Mingxia is married to Mr. Antony Leung Gum Chung, former Financial Secretary of Government of Hong Kong on July 15, 2002 in Hawaii. Their marriage was not publicly revealed until July 30, 2002. The couple has a daughter, born on February 26, 2003.
Reference
- Original text from Famous Chinese Women (http://www.famouschinese.com/topic/Famous_Chinese_Women), licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.