Gymnast eyes coaching job

MARK TAYLOR/Waikato Times.

HOPEFUL: Coach Dong Fanqxiao

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Former Olympic gymnast Dong Fangxiao hopes she may return to the Games as a coach with New Zealand.

The 24-year-old was part of China's Sydney 2000 team which had their bronze medals stripped about five months ago because Dong falsified her age and was found to be too young to compete.

A long-running International Gymnastics Federation investigation took place after she registered a different birthdate for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where she worked as a national technical official.

But that is now in the past for Dong, and she and her husband Li Te, 26, are now focused on starting afresh.

"I think nothing's happened to me," Dong said. "The results and all the medals all passed by when I was retired from gymnastics [in 2001]."

The couple moved from Beijing to Hamilton to study in the middle of last year, Li in April and Dong in July.

Dong had begun coaching young gymnasts on a volunteer basis at the Huntly Gym Club, and she is still doing that, as well as coaching at a club in Counties Manukau, for which she gets paid a salary.

After starting out as a coach in her home land, she now dreams of returning to the Olympics as a coach, and she is hoping that can be done with New Zealand.

Dong has finished studying English at Wintec and hopes to start a Sport Science course there, though she is also interested in early childhood and could look at opening her own business some day in China.

"But we now try our hardest to stay in New Zealand first," Dong said.

Li will complete his master's degree in Management at Waikato University next year and is thinking of staying on to do a PhD.

Dong may be eligible for a Talent Visa, but once Li's finished studying the couple will have to look at getting residency.

Although she hadn't been approached about a higher coaching position by the sport's national organisation – GymSports New Zealand – Dong hoped to build her profile and work her way up, certain that the age controversy had not hindered her progress in trying to make a living out of her passion.

"As foreigners we have to live here and we spend our money, it's quite expensive here so we have to make a lot of money for staying here," Dong said.

Li, who also helps with coaching, acknowledged the sport didn't have the same backing here as it did overseas.

"I think gymnastics in New Zealand is not like China, where the government invest lots of money. Compared with Chinese gymnastics or America or Russia, there's not so many kids here engaged in gymnastics.

"Cause currently gymnastics is not developing as well as rugby here. Currently gymnastics coach are not earning as much money as other careers.

"Our preference is, we would try to stay here because New Zealand is good place, very beautiful and peaceful," he said.

"Especially last time with the age problem, so many people support us here. We have heard from many people, friends and Kiwi local people, especially the parents of the kids, saying `Fangxiao we love you, we want you to stay here', so we very appreciate that".

The couple went out and found the opportunity at the Huntly club themselves because there weren't any openings in Hamilton.

Dong is there passing on her extensive knowledge on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, tutoring five girls, aged 7 to 13.

"The kids, they are very very enthusiastic," Li said. "And you can see when they learn a new movement, especially a hard or difficult movement from Fangxiao, you can see them going `wow I did it!'

"So Fangxiao can see her effort is worthy, she deserves this, you're not earning money but you're happy."

Li believed his wife deserved credit for what she had done and is backing her to develop and be a real asset to the sport in this country.

"It is a good start. Especially as foreigners in New Zealand. She still has a long way to go, I think, to prepare herself and progress her coaching ability."

- © Fairfax NZ News