Gao Kaiwen (Chinese: 高凯文)[1] is a Chinese weightlifting coach. He has coached 2020 Summer Olympics gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz, who is the first Olympic gold medalist of the Philippines.[2][3] He has also coached Chinese weightlifters Chen Xiexia who competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics, and Zhou Lulu who was a gold medalist at the 2012 Summer Olympics.[4]
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Native name | 高凯文 |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Weightlifting |
| Team | Chinese Bayi Chinese Army |
Gao also served as coach of the Chinese Bayi weightlifting team and was head coach of women's team of the Chinese army.[5][6]
Coaching Hidilyn Diaz
editGao Kaiwen was recruited to coach Hidilyn Diaz of the Philippines two months prior to the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia where Diaz clinched a gold medal. He also introduced new routines and heavier weights in Diaz's training. Gao was joined in by other coaches and officials including second coach Julius Naranjo. Diaz's coaching staff became known as "Team HD".[7]
In a lead up to the 2020 Summer Olympics, which was later postponed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Diaz went to Malaysia in February 2020 following the advice of Gao so she could be more focused in qualifying for a berth in the Olympics. Diaz managed to qualify but Diaz was forced to spend most of her time training in Malaysia due to logistical issues posed by COVID-19 related travel restrictions.[7]
Diaz competing in the women's 55 kg lifted 97 kg in the snatch and 127 kg in the clean and jerk for a total score of 224 kg. Diaz bested Liao Qiuyun who settled for silver with the latter lifting 126 kg. Liao's coaching staff was reportedly disappointed with Gao for not sharing the extent of Diaz's capability.[4]
After Diaz's Olympic stint, Gao requested for an early termination of his contract which was originally set to last until December 2021 in order to care for his family. Team HD is planning to tap the services of Gao again in a consultancy role.[8][9][10]
References
edit- ^ "迪亞士：教練高凱文將提早回中國" [Diaz: Coach Gao Kaiwen will return to China early]. Chinese Commercial News (in Chinese). July 30, 2021. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
- ^ Talao, Tito (28 July 2021). "Gao Kaiwen, the Chinese coach behind Hidilyn's historic gold". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ "Asiad hero Hidilyn Diaz reveals sacrifice on path to golden glory". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ a b "CHN federation upset with Team HD's Gao, bares Hidilyn Diaz". Tiebreaker Times. 29 July 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ Yan, Jie; Liu, Kai (27 July 2021). "Feature: Philippines' 1st-ever Olympic gold medalist Diaz realizes dream with Chinese coach". www.xinhuanet.com. Xinhua. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ Robles, Alan (29 July 2021). "China a theme in Philippine athlete Hidilyn Diaz's Olympic gold medal". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ a b "How Hidilyn Diaz made Olympic history as the Philippines' first gold medallist". Channel News Asia. 27 July 2021. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
- ^ Galunan, Jerome Jr. (2 August 2021). "Puentevella says 'not to worry' even as Chinese coach leaves". Sunstar. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ Naredo, Camille (10 August 2021). "Coach Gao will be Team HD's consultant, says Diaz". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ Ochoa, Francis T.J. (30 July 2021). "Richer offers could pull weightlifting coach Gao out of Team Hidilyn". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 13 August 2021.