On the eve of the 2016 Rio Olympics, London Olympic gold medalist, Zhao Changning representing Kazakh was found to have used an illegally banned substance by the International Weightlifting Federation. Hsu Shu Ching, the runner-up, stepped in and became the first female weightlifting Olympic gold medalist in the history of the Taiwan Olympic team. In the same year, she won the gold medal at the London Olympics. Becoming the first Olympic double gold medalist in the history of the Taiwan Olympic team. Setting an amazing record for the Taiwan team in competition history.
Hsu Shu Ching’s perseverance and endurance exemplify her own world stage
The Artificer team was very lucky to have the opportunity to travel to the south to visit the godfather of weightlifting in Taiwan, Coach Tsai Wen Yi, in 2012. Coach Tsai is strict but also very protective of his athletes. Therefore, when we first met, Coach Tsai was weary and really made us jump through many hoops to test our mettle and ensure our sincerity. After many exchanges and careful evaluation of the significance between our technology and sports science. We finally got the coach’s approval and support, and got to know Shu Ching better and started working together.
Ever since the team got to know Shu Ching, she has always been an a very innocent and young girl at heart. She has not changed because of her glory and medals that she has received, and she devotes herself to the training schedule every single day without end. Her hands were covered with unimaginably thick calluses, and her collar bone was slightly deformed due to long-term loading from heavy weights. However, she never says she was suffering. Instead, she told us that everyone around her is working hard to support her. Of course she will continue to work hard.
Coach Tsai once said: "This girl is very willing to endure hardship. I have to say that to be able to make a career in the weightlifting world, enduring hardship is the first prerequisite. For Hsu Ching to have achieved what she has today, in addition to the support given to her by the country and the team. She is truly very determined!
Shy, polite and courteous is the other face of Hsu Shu Ching
Her stable and calm demeanor during competition is the impression that the public has of Shu Ching. However, when she’s not competing, Shu Ching is actually very polite and shy, always smiling. Whenever the team goes south to Kaohsiung, no matter how late it is, she will always send a message to express her gratitude and greetings, "Thank you for your hard work! "Go team!" "Thank you for today!" and other encouraging words, which make us feel full of warmth; whether it was during the introduction video shooting or during the photo shoot at the end of 2017, Shu Ching deliberately took the time to off from her busy training schedule to participate. Yet, she kept smiling and was very professional throughout the entire process. Afterwards, she kept thanking the photography and video teams. This sincere way of treating others, given her achievements and age, really impressed us.
Hsu Shu Ching announces her retirement from competition but will continue behind the scenes to pass on her experience.
Over the years, with increasing age and the challenges of sports injuries, Shu Ching is still sticking to her training routines day after day. However, in June 2018, Shu Ching posted a retirement statement on her fan page, announcing that her career in competition had come to an end and that she would begin another stage of cultivating newcomers. Many people left messages to thank this hard-working athlete for bringing everyone wonderful events and impressive results.
For Artificer, we are very grateful that Shu Ching was willing to believe in this small brand. Our cooperation spanning more than 5 years gave us the opportunity to accompany her in every moment of training, winning medals, and retirement from competition. Cooperation also allowed team members to learn from her—that you must have perseverance in one thing, even if the process is boring. Persisting to the end will always have unexpected results.
It is our great honor to be able to find someone who exemplifies the meaning of Artificer and to be able to work together with her.
