Shang Chunsong

Note: This article places the family name before the person's first name. This is the usual order in Chinese. Shang is the family name here, Chunsong is the first name.

Shāng Chūnsōng
Shang Chonsung with the Chinese team at the 2016 Olympic Games
Personal information
Surname:	商 春 松 (Shāng Chūnsōng)
Nationality:	People's Republic of China
discipline	Apparatus gymnastics
Society:	Hunan team
Trainer:	Xiong Jingbin (熊景斌), Zhang Xia (张霞)
Birthday:	March 18, 1996
Place of birth:	Zhangjiajie , Hunan , People's Republic of China
Size:	142 cm
Weight:	35 kg
Medals
Chinese national games gold 2013 Dalian Individual all-around gold 2013 Dalian Uneven bars gold 2013 Dalian Floor exercise bronze 2013 Dalian Team all-around bronze 2013 Dalian Balance beam Pacific Rim Championships silver 2012 Melbourne Individual all-around Asian Championships gold 2012 Putian Team all-around gold 2012 Putian Balance beam gold 2012 Putian Floor exercise bronze 2012 Putian Individual all-around  Asian Games gold 2014 Incheon Team all-around silver 2014 Incheon Individual all-around silver 2014 Incheon Floor exercise bronze 2014 Incheon Balance beam  World championships silver 2014 Nanning Team all-around silver 2015 Glasgow Team all-around  Olympic games bronze 2016 Rio de Janeiro Team all-around

Shang Chunsong ( Chinese  商 春 松 , Pinyin Shāng Chūnsōng , born March 18, 1996 in Zhangjiajie , Hunan ) is a Chinese artistic gymnast who has been competing for the Chinese national team since 2010. The athlete, known for her extremely small stature as a result of poor nutrition in childhood, led her team to second place in the team all-around competition at the 2014 and 2015 World Championships. In fourth place, she narrowly missed a bronze medal in the individual all-around and floor exercise in 2015. At the Asian Games in 2014 she celebrated great success when she won gold in the team all-around, silver in the individual all-around and floor exercise and bronze on the balance beam. She names US star gymnast Simone Biles as a role model .

life and career

Shang Chunsong was born in 1996 in ShiYanPing Village, Hunan Province , and grew up in great poverty. As a child, she suffered from malnutrition . Her brother almost completely lost his eyesight because the parents who made their way through construction work in Changsha could not pay for the treatment of his eye disease, which was initially curable. When 7-year-old Chunsong was selected for the regional gymnastics school in Yongshun County in 2003 , the family could not afford the monthly fees. Her then 13-year-old brother, Shang Lei, dropped out of school and began working as a blind masseur to finance Chunsong's gymnastics training. Since then, it has been her greatest wish to win the Olympics and earn enough money for her brother's eye treatment "so that he can see how beautiful the world is."

She finally joined the Hunan Province team in 2006 at the age of ten. Because this was the first time that she received a salary, she was now able to support her family. Despite health problems and recurring colds throughout her career, she made it to the top. In 2010 she was brought into the national squad, with which she took part in the Chinese national games in the same year, but only finished 21st. In 2012, Shang Chunsong made her adult debut at the Pacific Rim Championship in Melbourne, where she celebrated her first major success. She won silver with the team and took fourth place on the balance beam and uneven bars, as well as fifth in the individual all-around competition. After she was also appointed to the Chinese team for the Asian Championships in the same year, she won three gold medals in the individual all-around event in addition to a bronze medal: with the team in the all-around event as well as in the individual on the balance beam and in floor exercise.

Another triumph, for which she was hailed in the Chinese media as the "triple gold queen", was achieved by the now 17-year-old in the following year at the Chinese National Games in Dalian in 2013, when she won gold in three of four individual disciplines (individual all-around , Uneven bars, floor exercise) and also won bronze on the balance beam and with the Hunan team. With the prize money of $ 163,425, she fulfilled a long-cherished dream of buying her brother a house. Upon hearing of their victory, he said, according to the Xiaoxiang Morning News , that the prize money is not important, he just wants his sister to laugh more often.

In 2013, Shang Chonsung took part in numerous other national and international competitions and made his debut in the stands of the worldwide competitions. At the World Cup in Tokyo she was only fourth in the individual all-around competition, but took first place on the balance beam and second in floor exercise. She played her first world championship together with Yao Jinnan , Zeng Siqi and Huang Huidan in Antwerp. After falling from the balance beam, she only finished eighth in the individual all-around event and also finished the final on the balance beam only in sixth place with 14,333 points. Despite the disappointing result, an uneven bars element with the difficulty level F was named after her "Shang" at this world championship.

Her participation in the Arthur Gander Memorial Competition later in the year, in which she was only sixth, and in the Swiss Cup in November, in which she did not make it to the semifinals, was also less successful. At the Anadia World Cup in Portugal, on the other hand, despite another fall, she won silver on the balance beam and bronze in floor exercise and uneven bars.

In May 2014 she started the year very successfully, with two gold medals (bar and floor), two silver medals (individual all-around and uneven bars) and bronze in the team all-around at the national championships in China. Later that year, she won team gold at the Asian Games in Incheon with the same team as last year, consisting of Yao Jinnan , Chen Siyi , Tan Jiaxin , Bai Yawen and Huang Huidan . In doing so, she and her colleague set themselves apart from second-placed North Korea with 15 points. In the individual all-around and on the ground, Shang Chunsong also won silver and bronze on the bar.

That year she was nominated again for the Chinese selection at the World Championships. This time the Chinese won team silver behind their opponents from the USA. Shang had also qualified for the final in the individual all-around competition, but ended up only 12th after several falls on the uneven bars. Since only two athletes from one nation are allowed to participate in the final round, she also missed the final on the balance beam at this tournament, although she actually qualified. Her teammates Yao and Bai were given preference.

After two gold medals at the 2015 São Paulo World Cup (uneven bars, bars), she also triumphed again at the 2015 National Championships in China. She won her three gold medals in the team all-around with the Hunan team, in the individual all-around and on the beam, while she had to be satisfied with silver on the ground behind Wang Yan .

Together with Wang Yan, Chen Siyi , Fan Yilin , Mao Yi and Tan Jiaxin , she was appointed to the Chinese national team for the World Cup in 2015 for the third time in a row. While she was able to fight for a silver medal in the team, she just missed the podium in the individual all-around and on the ground.

In 2016, Shang Chonsung achieved her big goal of participating in the Olympics. Because she had a fever and could not take part in training for five days, she initially feared being replaced by a teammate, but was then able to participate in the qualification and qualified despite a rather poor performance for her circumstances. In the team all-around competition, she won bronze with the Chinese team on August 9, 2016.

Competition history

year	competition	Team all-around	Individual all-around	Vaulting table	Uneven bars	Balance beam	Floor exercise
2010	National championships		21st
2012	Pacific Rim Championship	2	5		4th	4th
	Chinese championship	3			8th	5	4th
	Asian Championship	1	3		8th	1	1
2013	Tokyo World Cup		4th
	Chinese championship	3	2			1	1
	Anadia World Cup				3	2	3
	Chinese national games	3	1		1	3	1
	Gymnastics World Championship		8th			6th
	Arthur Gander Memorial		6th
2014	Chinese championship	3	2		2	1	1
	Asian Games	1	2			3	2
	Gymnastics World Championship	2	12
2015	São Paulo World Cup				1	1
	Chinese championship	1	1			1	2
	Gymnastics World Championship	2	4th		6th		4th
2016	Chinese championship	1	1		4th	1	1
	Olympic games	3			5

Web links

• Shang Chunsong in the database of the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Shang Chunsong . Archived from the original on August 6, 2016. Retrieved on August 13, 2016.
2. ^ The Story of Shang Chunsong - A Girl's Brave Struggle Against Adversities . Retrieved August 23, 2016.
3. ^ Profiles - Shang Chunsong . Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved on August 23, 2016.
4. ↑ https://database.fig-gymnastics.com/public/gymnasts/biography/2088/true?backUrl=%2Fpublic%2Fresults%2Fdisplay%2F13357%3FidAgeCategory%3D4%26idCategory%3D69%23anchor_35669 (different content)
5. ↑ Amanda Turner: Iordache Takes Two Titles at Anadia World Cup . In: International Gymnast Magazine , June 23, 2013. Archived from the original on September 23, 2014. Retrieved August 23, 2016. 
6. ↑ Amanda Turner: Brazil Best at Anadia World Challenge Cup . In: International Gymnast Magazine , June 22, 2013. Archived from the original on October 11, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2016. 
7. ↑ Results & Videos: 2014 Asian Games WAG TF & AA / EF quals . September 22, 2014. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
8. ↑ Women's Team Final Results (PDF) FIG. October 8, 2014. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
9. ^ Travis Seefried: Shang: China Can Do Better in Team Final . International Gymnast Magazine. October 8, 2014. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
10. ↑ FIG World Challenge Cup São Paulo Ginástica Artística Feminina Concurso III ( Portuguese , PDF) FIG. May 2, 2015. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved on August 23, 2016.
11. ↑ FIG World Challenge Cup São Paulo Ginástica Artística Feminina Concurso III ( Portuguese , PDF) FIG. May 3, 2015. Archived from the original on July 5, 2016. Retrieved on August 23, 2016.
12. ↑ Lauren Hopkins: 2015 Chinese Championships Results . June 1, 2015. Accessed August 23, 2016.
13. ↑ Lauren Hopkins: Chinese World Championships Team Named . September 18, 2015. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
14. ↑ 46th ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, GLASGOW (GBR) Women's Team Final (PDF) FIG. October 27, 2015. Accessed August 23, 2016.
15. ↑ 46th ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, GLASGOW (GBR) Women's All-Around Final (PDF) FIG. October 29, 2015. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
16. ↑ 46th ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, GLASGOW (GBR) Women's Apparatus Final Uneven Bars (PDF) FIG. October 31, 2015. Accessed August 23, 2016.
17. ↑ 46th ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, GLASGOW (GBR) Women's Apparatus Final Floor Exercise (PDF) FIG. November 1, 2015. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
18. ↑ http://www.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-rio-agymnastics-w-shang-idUSKCN10I0VO