Shaoang Liu has never found elite sport to be a lonely place. Unlike many of his peers, the 2021 overall ISU World Short Track Speed Skating champion has never felt alone.
Shaoang Liu (HUN) at the ISU European Short Track Speed Skating Championships 2020©International Skating Union (ISU)
He knows that somewhere on, or just off, the ice his elder brother Shaolin Sandor is there supporting him every step of the way.
Shaoang Liu (HUN) and Shaolin Sandor Liu (HUN) at the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships 2021©International Skating Union (ISU)
It is an extraordinary position to be in and one that has been central to the manner in which the Lius have dragged themselves and Hungary from nowhere to the very top of Short Track Speed Skating.
“In our sport there was no one, like a big idol we could follow and do what they do. That is why it was good we started together. Shaolin was always there for me,” Shaoang said of the brother who is two-and-a-half years his senior.
Shaoang Liu (HUN) at the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships 2021©International Skating Union (ISU)
“I could always just follow his path, watch how he skates, watch what he did.”
Talking to this pair who in 2018 drove Hungary towards its first ever Olympic Winter Games gold medal is an uplifting, funny, insightful and often touching experience – but perhaps what stands out more than anything is the total lack of competition between the brothers. On the ice at least.
“You can do anything you want.”
Shaoang Liu (HUN) and Shaolin Sandor Liu (HUN) at the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships 2021©International Skating Union (ISU)
European, World and Olympic success is what the Lius wanted and what they have got. As well as the historic Men’s 5000m Relay Olympic gold medal they won at PyeongChang 2018, the duo boasts four World and 10 European titles between them.
The fascinating story of how a mixed-race pair of brothers born in a country obsessed by football and water sports achieved such success is documented in detail on the latest edition of The Ice Skating Podcast.
One thing that immediately becomes clear is that the brothers are very different characters away from the ice. Shaoang likes to be “quiet and listen” while Shaolin admits that he never “wants to stop talking”. Shaoang likes to plan – he has his post-Beijing 2022 Olympic Games holiday itinerary already set in stone. Shaolin is determined to let the wind take him where it wants.
There is rivalry there too. When asked who the better dresser is or who has the superior taste in music the atmosphere tightens for a millisecond before the claims ring out from both.
But, despite all this, they are bound by a fierce commitment on the ice.
Shaoang Liu (HUN) at the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships 2021©International Skating Union (ISU)
“When the coach said, ‘You have to do this’ I was just doing it because I thought it was the right thing to do,” Shaoang said referring to the 18 months the brothers spent as teenagers alone in China training with the Chinese national squads – a period both credit with transforming their sporting careers.
“There is always more, there is always one step ahead, we always want to make it better,” Shaoang added. “We always want to make ourselves better.”
Shaoang Liu (HUN) at the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships 2021©International Skating Union (ISU)
Individual Olympic medals are undoubtedly the next steps. While Shaoang won 500m and overall gold at the 2021 ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships, and Shaolin took the 1000m crown, they both know that the real test will come in Beijing in 2022, particularly with the Koreans and the Chinese returning to competition.
For the quiet planner Shaoang, such success would neatly complete the circle. But either way, he knows that together he and Shaolin have already transformed the outlook for the next generation of Hungarian Short Tracker Speed Skaters.
“I feel super happy every time when some kids run to us in the ice rink and they start to scream, ‘Oh, we started skating because of you two guys.’ That’s really a good thing,” he said.
“We fought a lot for them.”
