Ku Chin-shui

Ku Chin-shui (Chinese: 古金水; pinyin: Gǔ Jīnshuǐ; Wade–Giles: Ku Chin-shui, 15 January 1960 – 25 May 2016) was an Amis Taiwanese decathlete and pole vaulter. He medaled for Chinese Taipei at the Asian Athletics Championships six times, winning one gold medal, two silver, and three bronze. At the 1990 Asian Games, he earned a silver medal in the decathlon. Upon retiring from athletics, he became a physical education teacher.[1]

Ku Chin-shui
Personal information
Native name古金水
NationalityTaiwan
Born(1960-01-15)15 January 1960
Hualien City, Taiwan
Died25 May 2016(2016-05-25) (aged 56)
Taipei, Taiwan
Height180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight73 kg (161 lb)
Chinese name
Chinese古金水
Sport
CountryChinese Taipei
SportMen's track and field
Event(s)Decathlon, pole vault
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)Decathlon: 7623 pts (1990)
Medal record
Asian Championships
1983 KuwaitDecathlon
1983 KuwaitPole vault
1985 JakartaDecathlon
1987 SingaporePole vault
1989 New DelhiPole vault
1991 Kuala LumpurPole vault
Asian Games
1990 BeijingDecathlon

Post-athletic life

On 24 August 1999, an explosion on board a landed Uni Air plane, Flight 873, injured 28 people and killed Ku Jing-chi (C: 古金池, P: Gǔ Jīnchí), the older brother of Ku Chin-shui. A report from the Aviation Safety Council (ASC) said a motorbike battery jostled, igniting gasoline in bottles in an overhead compartment. Prosecutors accused Ku Chin-shui of asking his nephew to bring gasoline on the flight.[2]

Ku was convicted and sentenced to ten years in prison. Upon appeal, it was shortened to seven and a half years. After a fifth retrial, he was declared not guilty. The ASC had commissioned an analysis from the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology, which said the ASC's simulation environment differed from that of the aircraft which had exploded."[2]

The court case caused Ku to lose his teaching position, and he worked part-time at a steel factory until 2008, when he returned to teaching full-time.[3] Ku was diagnosed with cancer in 2014,[4] and died of plasma cell leukemia on 25 May 2016 at National Taiwan University Hospital in Taipei.[1] Aged 56 at the time of his death, Ku was survived by his wife and two children.[5] His daughter, Ku Yun, was a member of the girl group Ice Creamusume from 2008 to 2010.[6]

International competitions
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
1983 Asian Championships Kuwait City, Kuwait 2nd Pole vault 4.80 m
2nd Decathlon 7438 pts
1984 Olympic Games Los Angeles, United States 16th Decathlon 7629 pts
1985 Asian Championships Jakarta, Indonesia 1st Decathlon 7538 pts[nb1]
1987 Asian Championships Singapore 3rd Pole vault 5.10 m
1989 Asian Championships New Delhi, India 3rd Pole vault 5.20 m
1990 Asian Games Beijing, China 2nd Decathlon 7623 pts
1991 Asian Championships Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 3rd Pole vault 5.10 m
  • nb1 This performance was calculated using the 1977 IAAF scoring tables and in the modern 1985 IAAF tables, is worth 7614 points[7]

See also

References
  1. Chen, Christie; Lu, Hsin-hui (25 May 2016). "Taiwanese decathlete Ku Chin-shui dies at 56". Central News Agency. Archived from the original on 28 May 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2016 – via China Post. Alt URL
  2. Yang, Yi-chung; Hsu, Ming-li (14 May 2011). "Man cleared of 1999 Uni Air accident". Taipei Times. Translated by Chung, Jake. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  3. Shan, Shelley (26 May 2016). "Former track-and-field star Ku Chin-shui dies at 56". Taipei Times. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  4. Liao, George (22 May 2016). "Chi Cheng: Ku Chin-shui still battling cancer". Taiwan News. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  5. Liao, George (25 May 2016). "Taiwanese decathlete Ku Chin-shui has died". Taiwan News. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  6. "台十项铁人古金水谢幕 飞跃的羚羊不舍". Epoch Times. 2016-06-09. Retrieved 2018-09-03.
  7. Athletics at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games: Men's Decathlon. Sports Reference. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
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