China’s ‘female Liu Xiang’ banned four years for doping – career looks over and now married
- Wu Shuijiao won 100-metre hurdles at 2014 Asian Games and represented China in the Rio Olympics
- Her domination earned her the nickname of ‘women’s Liu Xiang’
Top Chinese hurdler Wu Shuijiao, once hailed as the “women’s Liu Xiang”, has been banned for four years because of doping.
The 2014 Asian Games champion tested positive for banned substance norandrosterone in an out-of-competition test last June. Wu then requested a test of the B sample before a hearing was held last month.
The Chinese Athletics Association said both samples were found to be positive and banned the hurdler until July 2022. Wu, 27, was also required to pay for the testing fee of 20 samples at 20,000 yuan (nearly US$3,000).
Her coach, Dai Jianhua, was also banned for two years and fined 20,000 yuan.
Her name was surprisingly missing from the country’s 2018 Asian Games squad after Wu triumphed at the 2017 National Championships and the National Games in Tianjin.
Her domination in the discipline earned her the nickname “women’s Liu Xiang” in China.
Liu won China’s first men’s gold medal (110m hurdles) in track and field at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens becoming one of the most famous athletes in the world.
The ban is likely to end Wu’s career as the Guangdong athlete posted on Weibo that she was married last month and had started a new chapter in her life.
She said: “There are a lot of things you can’t help in life, but no matter how difficult they are I will try to face them. I have done nothing wrong and thank you for the support and care from my friends.”
