Qiao Ya
Encyclopedia
Qiao Ya is a retired Chinese artistic gymnast. She was the 1994 Asian Games
All-Around Champion, a finalist on balance beam at the 1994 and 1995 World Gymnastics Championships
, and competed at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta - where she placed 11th in the individual All-Around and 4th with the team during Team Finals.
Despite a disappointing showing at the 1994 American Cup
, Qiao began her international career on a high: beating her more widely known teammate, Mo Huilan
, to the individual All-Around title at the 1994 Asian Games
. At these championships Qiao also placed first with her team and finished with a bronze medal on balance beam.
At the 1994 World Championships
Qiao had moderate success - finishing 10th in the individual all-around and making the balance beam final. She qualified for the beam final in 4th place and was one of the favourites to challenge America's Shannon Miller
for the title but took a fall during the final on her tumbling
run (a back-handspring to two layout somersaults), and ultimately finished in 7th place.
In 1995 Qiao competed at the 1995 World Championships
- where the team took second place behind 1994 World Champions Romania
. The Chinese team actually scored the highest in the Team Optionals portion of the competition but their disappointing scores during the Compulsories round (where they were weak on vault
and bars) prevented them from taking first place. During the team competition she did not compete on all four events and so did not qualify for the individual All-Around final. She did however qualify for the beam final (for the 2nd consecutive year) but a balance break at the beginning of the routine (a difficult round off to layout step-out mount onto the beam) resulted in an 8th place finish.
Qiao also competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics
. After their impressive showing at the 1995 Worlds many gymnastics fans and experts expected the Chinese to challenge the United States, Romania and Russia for the team title. However the team did not compete well during both the Compulsories and Team Optional exercises and finished the competition in 4th place, just ahead of Ukraine but a long way behind America (1st), Russia (2nd) and Romania (3rd). Qiao qualified for the all-around final in 29th place and ultimately finished 11th in that competition. Having scored a 9.725 on beam, a 9.675 on floor and 9.718 on vault she looked set to finish in the Top 8 but a disappointing set on bars (traditionally her weakest piece) where she scored only a 9.600 dropped her out of the Top 10 altogether.
Qiao retired from competitive gymnastics shortly after the 1996 Olympics and is now coaching in Singapore
.
1994 Asian Games
The 1994 Asian Games also known as XII Asiad were held from October 2 to October 16, 1994 in Hiroshima, Japan. The main theme of this edition was to promote peace and harmony among Asian nations. It was emphasized by the host because the venue was the site of the first atomic bomb attack in...
All-Around Champion, a finalist on balance beam at the 1994 and 1995 World Gymnastics Championships
World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The World Artistic Gymnastics Championships are the World Championships for artistic gymnastics. They have been held since 1903.* * First time track and field event fully disappeared from the sport of gymnastics.- All-time medal count :...
, and competed at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta - where she placed 11th in the individual All-Around and 4th with the team during Team Finals.
Despite a disappointing showing at the 1994 American Cup
American Cup (gymnastics)
The American Cup, is an elite senior level international gymnastics competition held in the United States, and is generally considered to be one of the first major competitions of the Gymnastics season, as it is held in March or February of each year. In 1978-79 the event was sponsored by Dial and...
, Qiao began her international career on a high: beating her more widely known teammate, Mo Huilan
Mo Huilan
Mo Huilan is a Chinese gymnast who competed at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. She was one of China's most successful gymnasts in the 1990s. She is known for performing routines of exceptional difficulty and technique, but also for inconsistency....
, to the individual All-Around title at the 1994 Asian Games
1994 Asian Games
The 1994 Asian Games also known as XII Asiad were held from October 2 to October 16, 1994 in Hiroshima, Japan. The main theme of this edition was to promote peace and harmony among Asian nations. It was emphasized by the host because the venue was the site of the first atomic bomb attack in...
. At these championships Qiao also placed first with her team and finished with a bronze medal on balance beam.
At the 1994 World Championships
1994 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The 1994 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships were held in Brisbane, Australia from 19–24 April 1994.Only the all-around and apparatus events were contested at this meet. A team World Championships meet was held in Dortmund, Germany in November 1994...
Qiao had moderate success - finishing 10th in the individual all-around and making the balance beam final. She qualified for the beam final in 4th place and was one of the favourites to challenge America's Shannon Miller
Shannon Miller
Shannon Lee Miller is a former artistic gymnast from Edmond, Oklahoma. She is the most decorated gymnast in U.S. History, and considered one of the greatest gymnasts the United States has ever produced...
for the title but took a fall during the final on her tumbling
Tumbling (gymnastics)
In gymnastics, tumbling, also known as power tumbling is an acrobatic sporting discipline which combines some of the skills of artistic gymnastics on the floor with those of trampolining. It is practised on a 25 metre long spring track...
run (a back-handspring to two layout somersaults), and ultimately finished in 7th place.
In 1995 Qiao competed at the 1995 World Championships
1995 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The 30th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships were held at Sun Dome Fukui in Sabae, Japan in 1995.- All-round :NB: Team rosters are incomplete.- Apparatus :- All-around :- Vault :- Uneven Bars :- Balance Beam :- Floor Exercise:...
- where the team took second place behind 1994 World Champions Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
. The Chinese team actually scored the highest in the Team Optionals portion of the competition but their disappointing scores during the Compulsories round (where they were weak on vault
Vault (gymnastics)
The vault is an artistic gymnastics apparatus, as well as the skill performed using that apparatus. Vaulting is also the action of performing a vault. Both male and female gymnasts perform the vault...
and bars) prevented them from taking first place. During the team competition she did not compete on all four events and so did not qualify for the individual All-Around final. She did however qualify for the beam final (for the 2nd consecutive year) but a balance break at the beginning of the routine (a difficult round off to layout step-out mount onto the beam) resulted in an 8th place finish.
Qiao also competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
. After their impressive showing at the 1995 Worlds many gymnastics fans and experts expected the Chinese to challenge the United States, Romania and Russia for the team title. However the team did not compete well during both the Compulsories and Team Optional exercises and finished the competition in 4th place, just ahead of Ukraine but a long way behind America (1st), Russia (2nd) and Romania (3rd). Qiao qualified for the all-around final in 29th place and ultimately finished 11th in that competition. Having scored a 9.725 on beam, a 9.675 on floor and 9.718 on vault she looked set to finish in the Top 8 but a disappointing set on bars (traditionally her weakest piece) where she scored only a 9.600 dropped her out of the Top 10 altogether.
Qiao retired from competitive gymnastics shortly after the 1996 Olympics and is now coaching in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
.
Skills
- Vault - YurchenkoYurchenko (vault)Yurchenko is the name of both a specific vault and a vault family in artistic gymnastics. The Yurchenko was named after Soviet gymnast Natalia Yurchenko, who originated the vault in the early 1980s....
1&1/2 (SV: 10.0 in 1993 - 1996 COP). - Bars - Piked Jaegar to immediate Pak Salto, double front with 1/2 turn dismount.
- Beam - Round-off layout step-out mount, back-handspring layout step-out layout step-out, split jump into immediate punch front, full turning straddle jump, free walkover, various blind leaps.
- FloorFloor (gymnastics)In gymnastics, the floor refers to a specially prepared exercise surface, which is considered an apparatus. It is used by both male and female gymnasts. The event in gymnastics performed on floor is called floor exercise. The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring is FX.A spring...
- Full-twisting double back piked, 2.5 twist into punch front, 2.0 twisting front somersault