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Mu Xiangxiong - 2013 Pioneer Growing up in Tianjin, China, Mu Chengkuan thrived in an era when China was adopting the western culture of physical fitness. He was a champion cyclist, a Kung-fu master and excelled as a swimmer. In 1941, he dared to challenge foreigners in a swimming match, which was the basis of a scene in the famous movie that was based on his life, “Enter the Water Dragon.” His victories over Western athletes boosted Chinese patriotism and Mu became a household name almost over night. |
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Zhang Xiuwei - 2017 Pioneer In 1958, when she was 14 years old, she knew nothing about diving and didn’t even know how to swim, but coaches saw something in Zhang Xiuwei that led them to select her for a beginning diving program in the city of Tianjin, China. Xiuwei progressed rapidly and a year later, training under coach Wu Chengxi, she was selected for the national training program in Beijing, with athletes from all over China. The program was overseen by Soviet diving experts and in 1960, Xiuwei won the national youth springboard championship at the age of 16. |
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