Sang Lan
Encyclopedia
Sang Lan is a former Chinese gymnast
, television personality and student.
, she did compete at the 1996 and 1997 American Cup meets and was selected for the 1998 Goodwill Games
team.
In New York
at the Goodwill Games, during warmups for the vault event final, Sang fell while she was performing a timer (a simple vault, used by the athlete to familiarize herself with the apparatus and warm up). She could not raise herself from the mat and was taken to the hospital.
Tests indicated that she had fractured and dislocated her C6 and C7 vertebrae and injured her spinal cord
. The result of the injury was paralysis from the mid-chest down.
Sang remained in New York City
for almost a year, receiving rehabilitation at Mount Sinai Hospital
. Many celebrities, including Leonardo DiCaprio
, Celine Dion
and Christopher Reeve
visited and offered their support; she was also invited to participate in the New Year's Eve festivities in Times Square as an honored guest.
12 years after her fall, however, Sang revealed that her fall was not just an unfortunate accident, but due to disturbance from a coach of another team, who walked into the vault area to remove a mattress after her push-off. Sang said she mentioned it when she was sent to hospital, but Chinese officials apparently dismissed her accusation, saying she had brain damage. Sang has said she is preparing to sue the event's organisers, now that she is "old enough to stand up for herself." She also accused the Chinese National Gymnastics team for cruelly abandoning her after she was paralysed.
. Sang also hosts her own show, Sang Lan Olympics 2008 on STAR TV
, a Mandarin-language television channel. She was an ambassador for Beijing's successful 2008 Olympics bid and was selected as an Olympic relay torchbearer.
Sang is currently a student at Peking University
. She has continued a rigorous physical therapy regimen and has regained some use of her arms and hands. She has also expressed an interest in returning to competitive sports and wishes to represent China as a table tennis
player at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
.
Gymnast
Gymnasts are people who participate in the sports of either artistic gymnastics, trampolining, or rhythmic gymnastics.See gymnasium for the origin of the word gymnast from gymnastikos.-Female artistic:Australia...
, television personality and student.
Athletic career and injury
Sang achieved excellence in gymnastics at a young age, winning the all-around and every single event final at the 1991 Zhejiang Province Championships. By 1995 she was competing nationally. Sang was one of China's strongest vaulters, placing second on the event at the 1995 Chinese Nationals and gaining championship in 1997. While she never represented China at the Olympics or World Gymnastics ChampionshipsWorld Gymnastics Championships
The Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique organises World Gymnastics Championships for each of the gymnastic disciplines:...
, she did compete at the 1996 and 1997 American Cup meets and was selected for the 1998 Goodwill Games
Goodwill Games
The Goodwill Games was an international sports competition, created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s...
team.
In New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
at the Goodwill Games, during warmups for the vault event final, Sang fell while she was performing a timer (a simple vault, used by the athlete to familiarize herself with the apparatus and warm up). She could not raise herself from the mat and was taken to the hospital.
Tests indicated that she had fractured and dislocated her C6 and C7 vertebrae and injured her spinal cord
Spinal cord
The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular bundle of nervous tissue and support cells that extends from the brain . The brain and spinal cord together make up the central nervous system...
. The result of the injury was paralysis from the mid-chest down.
Sang remained in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
for almost a year, receiving rehabilitation at Mount Sinai Hospital
Mount Sinai Hospital, New York
Mount Sinai Hospital, founded in 1852, is one of the oldest and largest teaching hospitals in the United States. In 2011-2012, Mount Sinai Hospital was ranked as one of America's best hospitals by U.S...
. Many celebrities, including Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer. He has received many awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Aviator , and has been nominated by the Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television...
, Celine Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
and Christopher Reeve
Christopher Reeve
Christopher D'Olier Reeve was an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author and activist...
visited and offered their support; she was also invited to participate in the New Year's Eve festivities in Times Square as an honored guest.
12 years after her fall, however, Sang revealed that her fall was not just an unfortunate accident, but due to disturbance from a coach of another team, who walked into the vault area to remove a mattress after her push-off. Sang said she mentioned it when she was sent to hospital, but Chinese officials apparently dismissed her accusation, saying she had brain damage. Sang has said she is preparing to sue the event's organisers, now that she is "old enough to stand up for herself." She also accused the Chinese National Gymnastics team for cruelly abandoning her after she was paralysed.
Advocacy
Since returning to China, Sang has become a celebrity and an advocate for the disabled. A television miniseries about her life was produced in the late 1990s; she was portrayed by her former gymnastics teammate Mo HuilanMo 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....
. Sang also hosts her own show, Sang Lan Olympics 2008 on STAR TV
STAR TV
Satellite Television Asia Region is an Asian TV service owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. It is headquartered in Hong Kong, with regional offices in mainland China, Taiwan....
, a Mandarin-language television channel. She was an ambassador for Beijing's successful 2008 Olympics bid and was selected as an Olympic relay torchbearer.
Sang is currently a student at Peking University
Peking University
Peking University , colloquially known in Chinese as Beida , is a major research university located in Beijing, China, and a member of the C9 League. It is the first established modern national university of China. It was founded as Imperial University of Peking in 1898 as a replacement of the...
. She has continued a rigorous physical therapy regimen and has regained some use of her arms and hands. She has also expressed an interest in returning to competitive sports and wishes to represent China as a table tennis
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
player at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
2008 Summer Paralympics
The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games, the thirteenth Paralympics, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to September 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao....
.