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Chinese butterfly at the University of Nevada
By Zaneta Janiczak
Zephyr Staff
Posted on Nov. 28, 2001Limin Liu has been swimming daily since she was seven. She is 25 today. Her hard work, competitive nature and attitude help her to swim the butterfly faster than anyone in the world.
Liu is an international business student at the University of Nevada. She is a former University of Nevada junior butterflier, China's number one female swimmer in the butterfly, and the world record holder in the women's short-course 100-meter butterfly. She won a silver medal at the 1996 Olympics.
Limin Liu at the University of Nevada Lombardi Wellness Center
Photo by Zaneta Janiczak
"My parents took me to the swimming pool for the first time when I was just a kid in my hometown Wuhan in China," Liu said. "We came to have fun but there were small kids training on the other site of the pool. Their coach Zhao Ge saw me, how I move in the water, saw my potential and talent and asked me to join the team."
She came to the University of Nevada in 1997 and broke almost all of the schools records. She has been unbeatable so far, although she is no longer on the university team.
"I switched my focus now to studying," Liu said. "I already swam for two years on the UNR team. I came here to swim, to do what I love the most, and I tried to do the best."
She has won many glories for her homeland in individual and group relays.
She won the 1999 NCAA Championship in the 200-meter butterfly in 2:00:42, breaking former University of Nevada swimmer, Lise Mackie's 2:00:66 record se in 1998. She set her own conference meet record in 1:55:45 at the butterfly in February 2000 in Long Beach, California, improving her 1999 record by 3:04.
Liu is most proud of her second place win at the World Championships in Atlanta in 1996. It was the first time the University of Nevada placed in the women's national NCAA 100-butterfly title. It is also the toughest championship.
"World Championships in Atlanta were the hardest for me," Liu said. "I won the silver but I only lost by 0.01 second. Amy Van Dyken, representing the US, was first with a 59:13 time, but I finished second in 59:14 seconds. I came close to gold, but I passed it by. I only got to touch it for a second."
Liu also placed fifth in the 200-butterfly style in Atlanta.
Zhao Ge discovered Liu and has been her mentor and Chinese coach since she was 7. Ge coaches the Chinese National Team, which Liu represents. She trained with the HuBei Province Swimming Team from 1988 to 1992. She transferred to the Chinese National Team in 1992 to represent her homeland in the world arena.
She was the world champion threes times in the 100 and 200 meter butterfly. She also won 4x100-meter medley with three other Chinese swimmers and broke the world record at the 1994 World Championships in Rome, Italy.
In 1995 she set a new world record in the 100-meter butterfly short course in Brazil. She then won two gold medals in 1995 and 1997 at the World-Short-Course Swimming, and a silver medal in the 1996 Olympic Games.
Liu has just returned from China where she was practicing with her national team for her last competition, the 9th National Game in China.
"I will retire soon but I will still be swimming," Liu said. "Now, I will do more fun things. I am going to the US Master Team Championship in Hawaii in 2002. I went there this year to Santa Clara in California and I set all the master records."
Liu is currently concentrating on her schoolwork, although she still swims one and a half hours a day. She follows her own schedule based on workout training plans sent by her Chinese coach. She will graduate from the University of Nevada with a B.A. in international business next December and plans to pursue a career in international business.
Copyright
2000, 2001 Zephyr
zephyr@unr.edu
http://zephyr.unr.edu