Liu Yang (born 10 April 1990) is a

Paralympian The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

from China competing mainly in T54 classification sprint events. Before achieving success as an athlete, Liu ventured into para-cycling, but switched shortly after his international cycling debut.

Paracycling career

Liu took up para-sport in 2006, and at first looked at para-cycling where he was classified as a handcyclist. He competed at the 2007 UCI Para-Cycling World Championships in Boudreaux, where he failed to qualify for the final of the road race, and finished 17th in the time trial.

Athletics career

Liu first represented China as a wheelchair racer at the

2011 IPC Athletics World Championships The 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships was held in Christchurch, New Zealand from January 21 to 30, 2011. Athletes with a disability competed, and the Championships was a qualifying event for the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Ove1000 athlet ...

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, New Zealand. He finished sixth in the T54 100m sprint and was part of the gold medal-winning relay team men's (T53/54). The next year Liu appeared at his first Summer Paralympic, the 2012 Games in London. He was again part of the Chinese team that took gold in the men's 400 metre relay, and also won an individual medal; silver in the 100m sprint. Further success came at the 2015 World Championships in Doha, with a relay gold and two further first places in the 100m and 400m sprints.

Personal history

Liu was born in

Jinzhou Jinzhou (, ), formerly Chinchow, is a coastal prefecture-level city in central-west Liaoning province, China. It is a geographically strategic city located in the Liaoxi Corridor, which connects most of the land transports between North Chin ...

, China in 1990. A tumor to his spine left him with

paraplegia Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek () "half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neural ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Yang Paralympic athletes for China Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for China Paralympic silver medalists for China Living people 1990 births Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Chinese male sprinters People from Jinzhou Chinese male wheelchair racers Runners from Liaoning Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2010 Asian Para Games Medalists at the 2014 Asian Para Games