# Liu Shiying (athlete)

Liu Shiying (Chinese: 刘诗颖; born 24 September 1993) is a Chinese athlete who competes in the javelin throw. She is the first Asian athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in women's javelin throw.

## Career

Born in Muping County, Yantai, Shandong Province, Liu competed in track and field as a teenager and came to prominence nationally with a win at the Chinese City Games. A win at the national junior championships in 2012 saw her rise to the top of the world junior rankings with a personal best of 57.52 m (188 ft 8 in).
She entered the 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics as the leading athlete and improved her best to 58.47 m (191 ft 9 in) in the qualifying round. She improved again to 59.20 m (194 ft 2 in) in the final and led until the final round when Sweden's Sofi Flinck had a large personal best to knock Liu into the silver medal position. She had won a gold medal herself at the 2012 Asian Junior Athletics Championships a month earlier.
Liu made a gradual progression into the senior ranks. She was sixth at the 2012 Chinese Athletics Championships, then improved to fourth behind Chang Chunfeng at the 12th Chinese National Games in 2013 with a personal best of 60.23 m (197 ft 7 in) – her first throw beyond sixty metres. She did not compete at a major event in 2014, but a new best throw of 62.72 m (205 ft 9 in) gave her her highest world ranking yet at 21st (behind only Asian Games winner Zhang Li among Asian women).
She established herself internationally with a win at the 2015 Asian Athletics Championships, taking the gold medal for China in a championship record of 61.33 m (201 ft 2 in) (beating the mark set by her compatriot Li Lingwei in 2013).
On 6 August 2021, she won the gold medal in women's javelin throw at 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo with 66.34 m (217 ft 7 in), thereby becoming the first Asian to win an Olympic gold medal in women's javelin throw and the second Chinese athlete to be crowned the Olympic champion in any field event.
On 23 September 2021, she won the gold medal in women's javelin throw at the 2021 National Games of China in Shaanxi with 64.33 metres.

## International competitions

| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
| 2012 | World Junior Championships | Barcelona, Spain | 2nd | 59.20 |
| 2012 | Asian Junior Championships | Colombo, Sri Lanka | 1st | 53.02 |
| 2015 | Asian Championships | Wuhan, China | 1st | 61.33 CR |
| 2016 | Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 23rd (q) | 57.16 |
| 2017 | World Championships | London, United Kingdom | 8th | 62.84 |
| 2018 | Asian Games | Jakarta, Indonesia | 1st | 66.09 |
| 2019 | World Championships | Doha, Qatar | 2nd | 65.88 m |
| 2021 | Olympic Games | Tokyo, Japan | 1st | 66.34 m |
| 2022 | World Championships | Eugene, United States | 4th | 63.25 m |
| 2023 | Asian Championships | Bangkok, Thailand | 2nd | 61.51 m |
| 2023 | World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 6th | 61.66 m |
| 2023 | Asian Games | Hangzhou, China | 5th | 57.62 m |

## Seasonal bests

* 2018: 67.12 m (220 ft 2+1⁄2 in)
* 2017: 66.47 m (218 ft 3⁄4 in)
* 2016: 65.64 m (215 ft 4+1⁄4 in)
* 2015: 62.77 m (205 ft 11+1⁄4 in)
* 2014: 62.72 m (205 ft 9+1⁄4 in)
* 2013: 60.23 m (197 ft 7+1⁄4 in)
* 2012: 59.20 m (194 ft 2+1⁄2 in)
* 2011: 55.10 m (180 ft 9+1⁄4 in)
* 2010: 50.92 m (167 ft 1⁄2 in)
All information from IAAF profile