Cheng Fei (; born May 29, 1988) is a retired
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
artistic gymnast
Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different apparatuses. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which designs the Code of Points and regulates ...
.
She is a three-time World Champion on the
vault
Vault may refer to:
* Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards
Architecture
* Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space
* Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored
* Burial vault (enclosure ...
(2005–2007) and 2006 World Champion on
floor exercise
In gymnastics, the floor is a specially prepared exercise surface, which is considered an apparatus. It is used by both male and female gymnasts. The gymnastics event performed on the floor is called floor exercise. The English abbreviation for t ...
. She was a member of the gold medal-winning Chinese teams for the
2006 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The 39th World Artistic Gymnastics Championships were held in Aarhus, Denmark, from October 13 to October 21, 2006.
The International Gymnastics Federation, which celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2006, introduced a new Code of Points at the ...
in
Aarhus
Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...
, Denmark and
2008 Olympic Games
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
in Beijing, China. She was also a member of the silver medal-winning Chinese team for the
2007 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The 40th World Artistic Gymnastics Championships were held at the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle in Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar r ...
in
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
, Germany.
Biography
Cheng Fei was born in central China's
Hubei Province
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...
to a father who was a shipping clerk and a mother who worked in a tire factory, not a very wealthy background. Indeed, said her mother, "Our family was poor so we hoped Cheng Fei could in some way change her life...we thought maybe being a professional athlete is good for her." And so her parents approached a gymnastics coach about training her by the time she was three and her father practiced
calisthenics
Calisthenics (American English) or callisthenics (British English) ( /ˌkælɪsˈθɛnɪks/) is a form of strength training consisting of a variety of movements that exercise large muscle groups (gross motor movements), such as standing, graspi ...
with her every morning before school.
By the age of five, Cheng won her first competitive medal at a local competition. The 7-year-old Cheng was sent to
Wuhan
Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...
, where she joined the
Wuhan Institute of Physical Education
Wuhan Sports University (), formerly translated as Wuhan Institute of Physical Education, (WIPE), is a tertiary educational institution in China. According to the statistics released by the Ministry of Education of China, the university is one of ...
and officially entered the national sports program. Her first coach, Yao Juying remembered her as being uniquely 'hard-working' and extraordinarily focused.
[ At ten, she was invited to join the Hubei provincial team. In late 2001, at the age of 13, she was accepted to the Chinese National Team.][ Her coaches are head coach Lu Shanzhen,] and Liu Qun Lin.[
Cheng Fei is well known in the sporting world for being highly consistent, powerful and elegant, as well as displaying a fine level of sportsmanship. ]Sandra Izbașa
Sandra Raluca Izbașa (; born 18 June 1990) is a retired artistic gymnast from Romania. She is a double Olympic champion, having won the floor event at the 2008 Olympics and vault at the 2012 Olympics. She is also a winner of two Olympic bronze m ...
, 2008 Olympic Floor Champion has described her as a perfectionist, a great sport and a good friend. Shawn Johnson
Shawn Johnson East (born Shawn Machel Johnson; January 19, 1992) is an American former artistic gymnast. She is the 2008 Olympic balance beam gold medalist and team, all-around and floor exercise silver medalist. Johnson is also the 2007 al ...
, 2008 Olympic Beam Champion, was also quoted to have called Cheng Fei 'inspirational' and 'a great competitor'. Cheng Fei's leadership abilities are of paramount importance to the Chinese Women's Gymnastics Team.
She retired in June 2012 due to a ruptured Achilles tendon while performing a tumbling pass on the floor.
Competitive history
Cheng Fei is a vaulting and floor exercise specialist. She has had national success in gymnastics as a two-time Chinese National Floor Exercise Champion (2004–2005), a two-time Chinese National Vault medalist (2003 and 2005) and the 2004 Chinese National Balance Beam Champion.
Internationally, she has been very successful as well. She competed with the Chinese team at the 2004 Olympic Games
The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
in Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, Greece and although the team did not medal, she performed very well, scoring 9.475 on vault and 9.662 on floor. She also qualified for and competed in the floor exercise final, finishing 4th with a score of 9.412. She was the bronze medalist at the 2004 World Cup Final on floor exercise.
On 23 November 2005 Cheng made history at the 2005 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The 38th World Artistic Gymnastics Championships were held at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia from 21 to 27 November 2005. Only the all-around and event finals were contested at this meet. There was no team competition; nations were p ...
in Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, Australia, for being the first gymnast ever to successfully perform one of the most difficult vaults ever attempted by a woman. The vault consisting of: a round-off onto the springboard, a half-turn onto the vaulting horse and a 1½ somersault with a 540-degree turn in a straight body position, is now officially recognized in the FIG
The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...
Code of Points as "The Cheng" which carries a D-score of 6.5 under the 2009 Code of Points. During Event Finals on vault in Melbourne, Cheng scored 9.725 in her first vault (S.V: 10.0) and 9.587 in her second vault (S.V: 10.0), the "Cheng".
At the 2006 World Championships in Aarhus
Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...
, Denmark, she competed on vault and floor exercise, qualifying in first position for both event finals. Her performances on those two pieces of apparatus were instrumental in securing victory for China in the team championship, but they also earned her the individual vault and floor exercise world titles. Cheng also won the gold medal on the vault at the 2006 World Cup Final in São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
, Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
.
In 2007 Cheng began the year by winning the vault, balance beam and floor exercise titles at a World Cup event in Maribor
Maribor ( , , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is also the seat of the City Municipality of Maribor, th ...
, Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
. She was undefeated on vaulting and floor exercise in 2007 until the 2007 World Championships in Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
, Germany. At those championships, Cheng was recognized as the leader for the Chinese women's team and though Cheng won her third World title on the vault, she made a serious error on the vault during the team championship where the Chinese team finished 2nd. She went on to finish 5th on floor exercise, with a score of 15.050, after stepping out of the bounds with both feet in her final tumbling series.
Cheng fulfilled her goal of competing at the 2008 Olympic Games
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
in Beijing, China as the captain to the Chinese team. In the qualification, Cheng competed on three events, placing first on both vault and floor exercise, and fifth on balance beam. She was one of three female gymnasts to have entered 3 Olympic Event Finals in those Games, along with Nastia Liukin
Anastasia "Nastia" Liukin (; russian: Анастасия Валерьевна Люкина ; born October 30, 1989) is a Russian-born American former artistic gymnast. She is the 2008 Olympic All-Around champion, a five-time Olympic medalist, ...
and Anna Pavlova
Anna Pavlovna Pavlova ( , rus, Анна Павловна Павлова ), born Anna Matveyevna Pavlova ( rus, Анна Матвеевна Павлова; – 23 January 1931), was a Russian prima ballerina of the late 19th and the early 20th ...
. In the team final, She led the team to win China's first-ever women's gymnastics Olympic team gold medal in history. Individually, she won a bronze medal on vault (even after falling on her own "Cheng Fei vault"). She got 16.075 and 15.025 on her saltos. She won another bronze medal on balance beam (15.950) and placing 7th in the floor exercise event final (14.550), after an uncharacteristic fall. Cheng cried after the unfortunate vault and floor finals. After the Olympics, she said that she cried about her failure to capture the two gold medals she wanted most until she could cry no more. However, she received great support from both her fellow countrymen and the international gymnastics community, who acknowledged her talents and abilities as an exceptional gymnast. In a show of respect she gave the winner of the balance beam final Shawn Johnson
Shawn Johnson East (born Shawn Machel Johnson; January 19, 1992) is an American former artistic gymnast. She is the 2008 Olympic balance beam gold medalist and team, all-around and floor exercise silver medalist. Johnson is also the 2007 al ...
of United States a small box with silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...
inside it.
After the Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
, she competed in various competitions. She won three gold medals on vault, floor exercise and balance beam at the DTG World Cup in Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
. Her last 2008 competition was the 14th Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
where she won two gold medals on vault and floor exercise.
In 2009, she competed at the 25th Universiade in Belgrade and won a team Gold medal and a Silver medal on Vault.
After a near two-year off from competitions due to a leg injury, she competed in the 2011 Chinese National Championships in May on vault and floor Exercise. She led the qualifications on vault and finished 2nd in the final. She announced her intention to compete in the University Games in August, but was reported to be suffering from leg injury again and retreated from the competition.
In April 2012, Cheng competed at the Zibo World Cup in her home country, qualifying second into the vault final behind the Dominican Republic's Yamilet Peña Abreu. She intended to compete floor as well, but withdrew prior to the qualifying round. Cheng won the gold medal in the vault final.
Cheng injured her Achilles tendon in June 2012, taking her out of the running for the 2012 Chinese Olympic Team. In June 2012, she announced her retirement from elite artistic gymnastics, trying to switch from being an elite gymnast to a gymnastics coach.
Skills
Eponymous skill
Cheng has one eponymous skill listed in the Code of Points.
Competitive Routines
As of 2008, Cheng Fei performed the following skills on these apparatuses:
Competitive highlights
Floor music
* 2003: Lord of the Dance from Riverdance
* 2004: Variations from Don Quixote
* 2005–2007: Mas Zarzuela
* 2008: Yellow River Concerto
References
2008 Team China Profile
External links
at Gymnastics.About.com
at NBC Olympics site
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheng, Fei
Chinese female artistic gymnasts
Gymnasts at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Gymnasts at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
Olympic bronze medalists for China
Olympic gold medalists for China
Olympic gymnasts of China
Originators of elements in artistic gymnastics
People from Huangshi
World champion gymnasts
1988 births
Living people
Olympic medalists in gymnastics
Gymnasts from Hubei
Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Asian Games medalists in gymnastics
Gymnasts at the 2006 Asian Games
Asian Games gold medalists for China
Medalists at the 2006 Asian Games
Universiade medalists in gymnastics
Universiade gold medalists for China
Universiade silver medalists for China
Medalists at the 2009 Summer Universiade
21st-century Chinese women