jeramah
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作者：jeramah 在 驴鸣镇 发贴, 来自 http://www.hjclub.org
LONDON — Liang Chow never made it to the Olympics as an athlete.
The promising Chinese gymnast was a little too young to make the team for Seoul 1988. By the time Barcelona 1992 arrived, he had injured his back, retired from competition and was living in Iowa City.
Yet few people have cast a larger shadow over the past two Summer Games than the unassuming man from West Des Moines by way of Beijing.
Chow, 44, has coached America’s brightest women’s gymnastics stars in back-to-back Olympiads — sunny Shawn Johnson in 2008 and garrulous Gabby Douglas this year in London.
He finally made it to the Games, he said, by emphasizing the fun.
“I’m here for the kids. I’m not here for them to achieve my ambitions. I feel like my athletic life is over,” Chow said. “They need to be enjoying themselves. And for this level, it’s not easy. They have to have the heart to.
“I found the joy out of that. There’s nothing better than to help your younger generations, your students, achieve their goals, achieve their dream.”
It was that attitude — and the connection Chow seemed to have with 2008 all-around silver medalist Johnson — that first appealed to Douglas, his 16-year-old protegé who will lead Team USA into the team finals today. Douglas, a Virginia native, said she was looking for a new coach two years ago, one that would elevate her skill level while forging a personal bond.
Johnson and Douglas both say Chow became a surrogate father to them, pushing them athletically without punishing them emotionally. He revels in their success, but doesn’t take the credit.
Indeed, after Douglas turned in a strong showing at U.S. nationals in St. Louis last month, Chow could be seen smiling proudly in front of the podium, one camera in each hand, deftly snapping pictures of his rising star. One set of pictures was for himself, the other for Douglas’s mother, Natalie Hawkins.
“I want to keep this moment. Since her mom could not be down here, I was closer. I’ll e-mail them to her mom,” Chow said
作者：jeramah 在 驴鸣镇 发贴, 来自 http://www.hjclub.org |
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Gabby Douglas finds coach Liang Chow at the right time
