Xu Lijia
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| Native name | 徐莉佳 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | Lily | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Chinese | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
30 August 1987 Shanghai, China |
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| Residence | Shanghai | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Shanghai Jiao Tong University | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 60 kg (130 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |
 China
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| Sport | Sailing | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | Laser Radial | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Liu Xiaoma (刘小马) | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| Updated on 13 August 2012. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Xu Lijia (Chinese: 徐莉佳; pinyin: Xú Lìjiā; born 30 August 1987 in Shanghai) is a Chinese sailboat racer who won a bronze medal in women's Laser Radial class at the 2008 Summer Olympics and a gold medal in the same event at the 2012 Summer Olympics, where she was the flag bearer for China at the closing ceremony.
Xu Lijia was born nearly deaf in an ear and nearly blind in an eye. She started swimming at age four and attended a sports school in Changning District of Shanghai. When she was ten Xu was chosen by coach Zhang Jing to train for sailing.
Just a year after she started sailing, Xu Lijia won the 1998 Chinese National Championships held in Hong Kong.
In 1999, when she was twelve, Xu Lijia narrowly escaped death in a sudden storm while training on the open sea off the coast of Fujian Province with her coach and teammates. Wind speed reached 20 meters per second (45 mph), resulting in 17-meter (56 ft) high waves, capsizing their boats. They were stranded on the sea for more than two hours before managing to return to the base.
Xu Lijia began her international career aged 11 in the Optimist class in the 1998 Asian Championships, winning her first international gold medal in the 1999 Asian Championships. She then won the gold medals in the 2001 and 2002 World Championships, and the 2002 Asian Games, all in the Optimist class.
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