Huang Xu (; born February 4, 1979) is a Chinese

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 ...

. He specializes on the

pommel horse The pommel horse is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. Traditionally, it is used by only male gymnasts. Originally made of a metal frame with a wooden body and a leather cover, the modern pommel horse has a metal body covered with foam rubber and ...

and the

parallel bars Parallel bars are floor apparatus consisting of two wooden bars slightly over long and positioned at roughly head height. Parallel bars are used in artistic gymnastics and also for physical therapy and home exercise. Gymnasts may optionally we ...

and is also strong on

still rings The rings, also known as still rings (in contrast to flying rings), is an artistic gymnastics apparatus and the event that uses it. It is traditionally used only by male gymnasts, due to its extreme upper body strength requirements. Gymnasts oft ...

Background

Huang began gymnastics training when he was five and was a member of the Jiangxu provincial team in 1989. At the age of 14, he was selected into the national team.

National team

Huang represented

China at the 2000 Summer Olympics China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones ...

and was a member of the gold-medal-winning Chinese team. Individually, he placed 7th in the parallel bars event final, with a score of 9.650. During the

2004 Summer Olympics 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), ...

, Huang contributed heavily to the Chinese gymnastics team, a 9.675 on pommel horse, a 9.712 on still rings and a 9.687 on horizontal bar. However, several errors and falls of his teammates prevented the Chinese team from getting a team medal. Individually, he placed fourth in the pommel horse event final, with a score of 9.775. Huang was the oldest member of the Chinese gymnastics team at the

2008 Summer Olympics 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 ...

and won gold in the team final. He also placed sixth in the

event final. Huang is the 2003 World silver medalist on the parallel bars, and has been a member of four World Champion Chinese teams (1997, 1999, 2003, 2007).

References

External links

* * * * * * 1979 births Living people Chinese male artistic gymnasts Gymnasts at the 2000 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 2004 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships Olympic gold medalists for China Olympic gymnasts of China Sportspeople from Nantong Olympic medalists in gymnastics Gymnasts from Jiangsu Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Asian Games medalists in gymnastics Gymnasts at the 1998 Asian Games Gymnasts at the 2002 Asian Games Medalists at the 1998 Asian Games Medalists at the 2002 Asian Games Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Asian Games gold medalists for China Asian Games silver medalists for China Asian Games bronze medalists for China Nanjing Sport Institute alumni 21st-century Chinese people {{PRChina-Olympic-medalist-stub