Ju Ping Tian AM (, born 8 October 1942) is a Chinese Australian gymnastics coach who was Head Coach of the Australian Women's Artistic Team and Australian Institute of Sport women's artistic program. Tian was a member of the Chinese national gymnastics team and received the Chinese Masters award as an athlete in 1957. She completed a physical education degree at the

Beijing Sport University Beijing Sport University (BSU) (), formerly known as "Central Institute of Physical Education" () and "Beijing Institute of Physical Education" (), is a nation-level public university located in Beijing, China. It is one of the National Key Univ ...

. Tian coached Chinese athletes from 1965 to 1983 to Olympic and world championship medals and from 1981 to 1983 she was the Chinese National Women's Coach. Tian moved to Australia with her family in 1983 under an agreement for sport exchanges with China. Her first coaching job in Australia was at the NSW State Sports Centre. In 1985, she was appointed Head Coach of the Australian Institute of Sport Women's Artistic Gymnastics program replacing Kazuya Honda who relocated to Melbourne. She held this position until 2004 and was subsequently appointed the National Junior Development Coach. Tian was Australian Women's Artistic Head Coach from 1985 until 1996. Tian has been recognised for her outstanding contributions to the development of Australian gymnastics and is credited to significantly improving Australia's international ranking. As a result she was subsequently appointed a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gov ...

(AM) in 2006 by the Governor-General of Australia.

Coaching career

Australian Institute of Sport - Ju Ping Tian

Australian Team's performances at major competitions whilst she was head coach were: * 1985 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships - 17th in team competition. * 1986 Commonwealth Gymnastic Federation Championships - 3rd in team competition. * 1987 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships - 17th in team competition. * 1989 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships - 16th in team competition ; Monique Allen 25th all round. * 1990 Commonwealth Games - 3rd in team competition ; one gold, one silver and 5 bronze medals. *

1991 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships The 26th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Indianapolis, United States, in the Hoosier Dome The RCA Dome (originally Hoosier Dome) was a domed stadium in Indianapolis. It was the home of the Indianapolis Colts NFL franchise ...

- 6th in team competition - qualified for Barcelona Olympics women's team competition for first time. *

1992 Barcelona Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

- 7th in team competition ; Monique Allen 19th Lisa Read 30th and Kylie Shadbolt 36th. *

1994 Commonwealth Games The 1994 Commonwealth Games (French: ''XVéme Jeux du Commonwealth'') were held in Victoria, British Columbia, from 18 to 28 August 1994. Ten types of sports were featured at the Victoria Games: athletics, aquatics, badminton, boxing, cycling ...

- 3rd in team competition ; two gold, one silver and three bronze medals. *

1995 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships The 30th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships were held at Sun Dome Fukui in Sabae, Japan in 1995. Results Medal table Overall Men Women Participants Men Women Men's results Team final NB: ''Team rosters are incomplete ...

- 12th in team competition - qualified for Atlanta Olympics women's team competition. * 1996 Atlanta Olympics - 10th in team competition. Australian Olympic gymnasts developed by Tian at the Australian Institute of Sport include: Kellie Wilson, Monique Allen, Leanne Rycroft, Kylie Shadbolt, Lisa Read, Julie-Anne Monico, Ruth Moniz and

Hollie Dykes Hollie Johnston Dykes (born 12 September 1990) is a retired Australian gymnast who was born in Gold Coast, Queensland, and began gymnastics at the age of four and a half. She started training at the Australian Institute of Sport ( Canberra) in ...

. In 1995, the Australian Institute of Sport held an Inquiry into her coaching and training methods after accusations by several former gymnasts but Tian was cleared by the Inquiry led by sports lawyer Hayden Opie. In 1997, after being replaced as Head Coach of the Australian team, Murray Chessell, President of Gymnastics Australia stated that Tian's "work inspired a generation of gymnasts and her leadership style and training methods created a high performance culture which formed a model for high performance centres throughout the country."

Recognition

*1990-1992 - Gymnastics Australia Women's Artistic Coach of the Year *1991 - Sport Australia Awards Coach of The Year *1991 - Australian Coaching Council Team Coach of the Year *2000 -

Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, offi ...

*2006 - Member of the

(AM) for service to gymnastics, particularly through the development of the Women's Gymnastics program at the Australian Institute of Sport. * Gymnastics Australia Hall of Fame for 10 years outstanding service dedicated to developing and improving Australia's international ranking.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tian, Ju Ping 1942 births Living people Australian Institute of Sport coaches Australian gymnastics coaches Olympic coaches for Australia Chinese emigrants to Australia Sportspeople from Hebei Members of the Order of Australia