Shaolin Sándor Liu (; ; born 20 November 1995) is a Chinese-Hungarian Olympic champion

short track speed skater Short-track speed skating is a form of competitive ice speed skating. In competitions, multiple skaters (typically between four and six) skate on an oval ice track with a length of . The rink itself is long by wide, which is the same size as a ...

. He has won one gold and one bronze as part of the Hungarian team in short track speed skating relays at the

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

and

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

Winter Olympics. He has chosen to change nationality that may allow him to compete for China in 2024.

Career

Born and raised in Hungary to a Chinese father and a Hungarian mother, Liu started the sport in 2006. Before taking up skating, Liu and his brother Shaoang swam for two years, but they frequently got colds as a result. After looking for different sports to compete in, they took up short track speed skating. In 2006, the World Championships were held in Hungary. Their father assisted the Chinese team during their stay, helping with their stay and guiding them around. After the Chinese team suggested his two sons should go train in China due to their half-Chinese ethnicity, Liu's father agreed to take the boys to China, where they trained for one and a half years. After returning from China, they began to win various minor European competitions. In 2012, Zhang Jing came from China to coach Liu and his brother. Liu represented

Hungary at the 2014 Winter Olympics Hungary competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, from 7 to 23 February 2014. A team of 16 athletes competing in five sports were selected to the team. Before the Games began, the Hungarian Olympic Committee received a threatening l ...

. He has won multiple medals at the

World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships The World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships are a junior short track speed skating event and held once a year in a different country. Skaters perform individual races in the 500 meters, 1000 meters, 1500 meters, 1500 meters super fin ...

, and placed third overall at the 2016 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships. He finished in fifth position at the

2018 Winter Olympics , nations = 93 , athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women) , events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = , closing = , opened_by = President Moon Jae-in , cauldron = Kim Yun-a , stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium , winte ...

in the men's 1500 m event before winning gold in the 5000 m relay, which was also Hungary's first-ever Winter Olympics title. At the

2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics (2022年冬季奥林匹克运动会), officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), was an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beij ...

held in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, Liu was disqualified for an infringement despite finishing first in the men's 1000m final. He won a bronzein the mixed 2000 m relay. In November 2022, Liu and his brother requested consent from the Hungarian National Skating Federation to allow them to change nationality, a request which was granted a month later in December, but they would need to sit out for 12 months with the change in nationality.

Personal life

Liu's younger brother

Shaoang Liu Shaoang Liu (; ; born 13 March 1998) is a Hungarian-born Olympic gold medalist short track speed skater. He is the younger brother of teammate Shaolin Sándor Liu, and has won two golds and two bronzes represent Hungary at the Winter Olympics ...

is also a short track speed skater. He was second in the 1500 m, third in the 500 m, and fifth overall at the 2016 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships. Though born to a Chinese father from

Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...

, Liu speaks Chinese with a noticeable Northeastern accent due to his year and a half spent in the Northeastern region of China. He was in a relationship with fellow speed skater

Elise Christie Elise Christie (born 13 August 1990) is a British former short track speed skater. She was coached by Nicky Gooch and she specialised in the 1000m event. She is ten times a European gold medallist, including two overall European titles in 2015 ...

from 2015 to 2018.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Shaolin Sandor 1995 births Living people Hungarian male short track speed skaters Olympic short track speed skaters for Hungary Olympic medalists in short track speed skating Olympic gold medalists for Hungary Olympic bronze medalists for Hungary Short track speed skaters at the 2014 Winter Olympics Short track speed skaters at the 2018 Winter Olympics Short track speed skaters at the 2022 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2018 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2022 Winter Olympics World Short Track Speed Skating Championships medalists Speed skaters from Budapest Hungarian sportspeople of Chinese descent

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links