Former gymnastics world champion Wu Liufang, once a hardworking medalist, faces debt, a banned livestream account and no clear support after retirement.
With 160,000 in retirement compensation, her social media account suspended, and her family in debt
, former world gymnastics champion Wu Liufang sat cross-legged on the laminate floor of her rented apartment, scrolling through her phone. She went through her contact list three or four times but couldn’t find a single person to sit down with and catch up with. Her remark, “I don’t even have the chance to choose between the two,” struck a chord with many netizens.
No one could possibly connect this streamer, currently struggling to make ends meet, with the little girl with a high ponytail who trained at the national team’s gym more than a decade ago.She spent twelve years on the gymnastics team, winning a total of thirty-one medals. Her routines on the vault and uneven bars were widely recognized within the team as the ones she’d trained the hardest for and executed with the greatest consistency; whenever the coach reviewed training footage, he would always point to her movements to demonstrate them to new team members.
Injury struck without warning; a landing error during the Olympic preparation cycle shattered any possibility of her continuing to compete.When the retirement notice was placed before her, the only option in the signature section was “buyout retirement.” She had no other choice. A few days after signing, 160,000 appeared in her bank account as compensation. Clutching her gym bag, she didn’t dare look back at the training hall where she had spent more than a decade.
Longtime viewers will recall Liu Xiang’s decision to retire back then. At the time, the options on the table were clear: either stay with the team as a coach and secure a stable position, ensuring a steady income for the rest of his life, or opt for a buyout of his years of service to pursue independent employment, which would net him a lump-sum severance payment. Yet no one ever explicitly explained these options to Wu Liufang.
Life after retirement has been particularly difficult. Her savings from earlier years were swindled away by a business partner,later, while preparing for the civil service exam, she passed both the written test and the interview, yet her name did not appear on the official list of successful candidates. With her family’s debts piling up day by day, she had no choice but to start live-streaming to make a living. Just two months into it, her account was suspended, and even a former teammate from her days on the track openly expressed disapproval.
No one remembers how many medals once hung around her neck; in the public eye, she is merely a desperate, down-and-out streamer.
Our generation understands that it is not only athletes who stand on the highest step of the Olympic podium who deserve comprehensive post-retirement support.Those ordinary athletes who have trained relentlessly for over a decade and fought for national honor should not be cast aside as a burden upon retirement. Current resources for athlete reintegration are largely skewed toward top-tier, well-known athletes, while the vast majority who never reached the pinnacle of the sport—after dedicating half their lives to it—often end up with no decent prospects.
They’ve been immersed in training since their teens and know almost nothing about how the outside world works beyond their own sport. The barriers to transitioning to a new career are already much higher for them than for the average person; there’s really no need for others to add to their difficulties.
When will the rules for athlete support become open and transparent, and when will the safeguards stop being applied on a case-by-case basis? Then, athletes who have poured a decade of sweat into the cause of sports will no longer have to struggle alone in the quagmire after retirement.
Wu Liufang’s experience is by no means an isolated case; it concerns the future of every ordinary athlete who has contributed to the nation. The more attention we pay to this issue, the further we can advance efforts to improve the system.
