Gao Min (; born September 28, 1970, in

Zigong Zigong (, ), formed by the merger of the two former towns of Ziliujing (Tzuliuching, literally "self-flow well") and Gongjing (Kungching, literally "offering well"), is a prefecture-level city in Sichuan, southwestern China. Demographics Accord ...

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

) is a female

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 ...

diver who won gold medals in the springboard event of the 1988 and 1992

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 ...

Diving career

Gao learned how to swim at the age of four. At nine, she started gymnastics training, before she was spotted by a diving coach and persuaded to switch to compete in diving. She won her first major international competition - on the 3-meter springboard - in the World Championships in 1986. Nicknamed the "Diving Queen", Gao is one of the most dominant divers in the history of the sport. Undefeated in world competition on the 3-meter springboard between 1986 and 1992 (including Olympic Games gold medals both in 1988 in Seoul and 1992 in Barcelona). She is tied with the legendary

Greg Louganis Gregory Efthimios Louganis (; born January 29, 1960) is an American Olympic diver, LGBT activist, and author who won gold medals at the 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics on the springboard and platform. He is the only man and the second diver in Ol ...

in winning the greatest number of international awards on one board. She is also the only female diver to surpass the 600-points mark in the event; and she did it three times. Gao was chosen as the World's Best Diver of the Year by the U.S. magazine ''Swimming World'' from 1987 to 1989 and the Woman's World Springboard Diver of the Year for a record seven consecutive years from 1986 to 1992. In 1998, Gao was inducted into The

International Swimming Hall of Fame The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests and serving as the central point for the stu ...

Post-diving career

Gao coached in Edmonton, Alberta for many years for the Edmonton Kinsmen Diving club, producing many national team divers and helping to further the sport of diving in Canada. In 2003, Gao was inducted into the Women's Sports Hall Of Fame. In 2005, Gao left Canada to return to China to promote her autobiography. The book is currently only available in Chinese, but it will be available in English in early 2007.

Humanitarian Activism

Gao is the first ambassador of Compact2025, a partnership that develops and disseminates evidence-based advice to politicians and other decision-makers aimed at ending hunger and undernutrition in the coming 10 years.Ambassador's page on the website of the Compact 2025 partnership
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References

External links

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International swimming hall of fameThe International Women's Sports Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gao, Min 1970 births Living people Divers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Divers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for China People from Zigong Olympic medalists in diving Chinese female divers Asian Games medalists in diving Divers at the 1990 Asian Games Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Asian Games gold medalists for China Medalists at the 1990 Asian Games Universiade medalists in diving Universiade gold medalists for China Goodwill Games medalists in diving Medalists at the 1991 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1993 Summer Universiade Competitors at the 1990 Goodwill Games

Diving career

Post-diving career

Humanitarian Activism

See also

References

External links