Liu Zige

Liu Zige
Personal information
Full nameLiu Zige
NationalityChinese
Born (1989-03-31) 31 March 1989
Benxi, Liaoning, China
Height1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight67 kg (148 lb; 10.6 st)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesButterfly
Medal record
Olympic Games
2008 Beijing 200 m butterfly
World Championships (LC)
2013 Barcelona 200 m butterfly
2009 Rome 200 m butterfly
2011 Shanghai 200 m butterfly
World Championships (SC)
2010 Dubai 4×100 m medley
2012 Istanbul 100 m butterfly
In this Chinese name, the family name is Liu.

Liu Zige (simplified Chinese: 刘子歌; traditional Chinese: 劉子歌; pinyin: Liú Zǐgē, born 31 March 1989) is a Chinese competitive swimmer. She won gold medal in the 200 m butterfly at the 2008 Olympics, and is the current world record holder in the event.

Career

Liu swam at the 2005 World Championships, where she placed 20th in the 200 m butterfly with a time of 2:14.25.[1]

At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Liu competed in the 200 m butterfly. She qualified fastest for the final with a new Asian record of 2:06.25. In the final, she went head-to-head with Jessicah Schipper, who was the world record holder and reigning world champion in the event. Liu, a relative unknown, went 2:04.18 to win the gold medal and break Schipper's world record of 2:05.40 from 2006.[2][3][4]

After the conclusion of the swimming events in Beijing, it was revealed that Schipper's coach, Ken Wood, had sold his training program to Liu's coach. Liu had spent time training with Schipper and Wood prior to the Beijing Olympics.[5]

In July 2009, Liu competed at the World Championships in Rome, swimming the 200 m butterfly. Her world record was broken by Mary DeScenza in the heats.[6] In the final, Liu won the silver medal in 2:03.90, finishing behind Schipper. Schipper and Liu recorded the first and second fastest times in history, respectively.[7]

In October 2009, Liu competed at the Chinese National Games in Jinan. She broke the Asian record in the 100 m butterfly, going 56.07 to miss Sarah Sjöström's world record by 0.01 seconds.[8] Days later, Liu competed in the 200 m butterfly. She went 2:01.81 to reclaim the world record, surpassing Schipper's mark by 1.6 seconds.[9]

In November 2009, Liu competed in the FINA World Cup. At the Stockholm leg, she went 2:02.50 in the short course 200 butterfly to break Yuko Nakanishi's world record of 2:03.12 from 2008. Four days later, at the Berlin leg, Liu lowered the mark to 2:00.78.[10][3]

At the 2011 Chinese National Championships in Wuhan, Liu won the 200 m butterfly in 2:04.40, which was the fastest time in a textile suit. This qualified her for the World Championships in Shanghai. Despite going into the world championships with the fastest time of the year, Liu was relegated to the bronze medal, recording 2:05.90 to finish 0.35 seconds behind gold medalist Jiao Liuyang.[11][12]

Liu qualified for the 2012 Olympics in London as defending champion in the 200 m butterfly. In London, she finished eighth in the event, and her Olympic record was broken by gold medalist Jiao.[13]

At the 2013 World Championships in Barcelona, Liu won the gold medal in the 200 m butterfly with a time of 2:04.59.[14]

At the 2016 Chinese National Championships in Foshan, Liu finished 5th in the 200 m butterfly with a time 2:08.86 and did not qualify for the Olympic team.[15][16]

See also

References

  1. ^ "11th FINA World Championships - Women's 200m Butterfly Heats Results" (PDF). Omega Timing. 27 July 2005. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  2. ^ John Lohn (12 August 2008). "Olympics, Swimming: Liu Zige Sets Asian Record to Lead 200 Fly Qualifying". Swimming World. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  3. ^ a b Lei Lei (1 December 2009). "Butterfly queen Liu shies from spotlight". China Daily. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  4. ^ John Lohn (14 August 2008). "Olympics, Swimming: Flash Liu Zige of China Sets World Record in Women's 200 Fly". Swimming World. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
  5. ^ "China plays down 'secret' Aussie training program". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 18 August 2008. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  6. ^ "13th FINA World Championships - Women's 200m Butterfly Heats Results" (PDF). Omega Timing. 29 July 2009. Retrieved 28 March 2025.
  7. ^ "Schipper, Sprenger set WRs in Rome". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 31 July 2009. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  8. ^ "Chinese National Games: Liu Zige Scares World Record in 100 Fly". Swimming World. 18 October 2009. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
  9. ^ "Chinese National Games: Flash! Liu Zige Shocks World With Astounding 200 Fly World Record". Swimming World. 21 October 2009. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
  10. ^ "Women's 200m Butterfly Final Results" (PDF). Omega Timing. 11 November 2009. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  11. ^ "Chinese Long Course Nationals: Liu Zige Betters Textile Best; Incredibly Fast Evening All Around". Swimming World. 6 April 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  12. ^ "China's Jiao wins women's 200m butterfly at worlds". China Daily. 29 July 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
  13. ^ "2012 London Olympics: China's Jiao Liuyang Goes Silver-to-Gold With Olympic Record in Women's 200 Fly; Kathleen Hersey, Cammile Adams Miss Podium". Swimming World. 1 August 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  14. ^ "15th FINA World Championships - Women's 200m Butterfly Finals Results" (PDF). Omega Timing. 1 August 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  15. ^ Braden Keith (7 April 2016). "Ning Zetao Scratches Final of 100 Free, Yu Wins at 2016 Chinese Trials". SwimSwam. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  16. ^ Reid Carlson (1 August 2016). "2016 Rio Olympics Preview: Chinese 3-Peat in Peril in Women's 200 Fly". SwimSwam. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
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