Liang Chow

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
(Redirected from Liang Qiao)
Jump to: navigation, search
Liang Chow
— Gymnast —
File:Norah Flatley + Liang Chow 2014.JPG
Liang Chow with athlete Norah Flatley at the 2014 City of Jesolo Trophy.
Personal information
Country represented  United States
Former countries represented  China
Born (1968-01-01) January 1, 1968 (age 56)
Beijing, China
Residence West Des Moines, Iowa, USA
Discipline Men's artistic gymnastics
Retired 1992
Medal record
Representing  China
Men's Artistic Gymnastics
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1989 Stuttgart Team
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 1990 Beijing All-Around

Liang Chow (formerly Qiao Liang, Simplified Chinese: 乔良, Traditional Chinese: 喬良, Pinyin: Qiáo Liáng) (born January 1, 1968, Beijing) is a former Chinese artistic gymnast. He is currently a coach and owner of Chow's Gymnastics and Dance Institute in West Des Moines, Iowa.[1] He is known as the coach of 2008 Olympic balance beam champion Shawn Johnson and 2012 Olympic individual all-around champion Gabby Douglas.[2] He currently coaches senior US gymnast Norah Flatley and Rachel Gowey and junior US gymnast Victoria Nguyen. [3][4]

Biography

Growing up in Beijing, Chow was tapped by a district club at the age of 5 to train in gymnastics.[5] He was on China's national gymnastics team for more than a decade, winning numerous national and international medals.[5] However, he never competed in an Olympic Games; in 1988 he was too young to make the Chinese team, and before 1992 he suffered a back injury and retired from competition.[6]

He moved to the United States in 1991 on the suggestion of his aunt, who was working on her Ph.D. at the University of Iowa. He accepted an English scholarship and a position as an assistant coach for the University of Iowa's men's gymnastics program. Afterwards he accepted a coaching job for the women's program. Following his experience working with female gymnasts, Chow decided to open his own gym to train gymnasts at a younger age, when they would be more flexible and open to learning new skills. He and his wife moved to West Des Moines and opened Chow's Gymnastics and Dance Institute on August 23, 1998. He expanded his operation to an 11 acres (4.5 ha), two-gym facility by 2003.[5] In June 2008, a flood destroyed the facilities.

Chow was the personal coach of Shawn Johnson since 1998. He began working with Gabby Douglas in 2010. He is known for his fatherly affection toward his proteges.[5]

Personal

Chow is married to Liwen Zhuang, a former gymnast on the Chinese national team. They have one child, named Kevin.[5] Chow became a U.S. citizen in 2002.

International Elite Athletes

He has three international elite gymnasts, one of whom are seniors and two of whom are juniors. His juniors are Norah Flatley, and Victoria Nguyen . His only senior is Rachel Gowey; following the retirement of former elite, Alexis Vasquez.

References

  1. ↑ http://chowsgym.com/
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2014/08/20/gymnastics-rachel-gowey-injured-chow/14345777/
  4. ↑ http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2014/08/23/gymnastics-liang-chow-rachel-gowey-norah-flatley-gabey
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Liang_Chow&oldid=714951097"