Golden Lily - 10 Years On

Golden Lily is the fascinating autobiography from Asia's first ever dinghy sailing gold medallist. It tells of her learning to sail and becoming a full-time athlete at just 10 years old. At that age Lijia Xu was taken away from her parents and enrolled in the gruelling Chinese training regime, a programme meticulously prescribed across all sporting disciplines to catapult the nation's talented youngsters to international champions. It is a rare insight into a shocking world of relentless physical training and unquestioning mental compliance. Lijia's honest and heart-felt account takes you on her journey from physical disabilities and debilitating injuries to learning to think for herself, eventually going on to achieve her dream of becoming an Olympic gold medallist.

Now, ten years since its first publication, Lily has updated the story. She tells of her third and final Olympic campaign at Rio 2016 and then training to be a sports journalist and covering Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 as a reporter. Lijia opens up about her secret relationship with her English coach and their subsequent marriage, as well as talking about her post-Olympic sailing including IMOCA 60s, M32s, J80s and Waszps. This is an inspirational story of a young woman's will to succeed despite all that her background threw at her.

Praise for Golden Lily - 10 Years On

"Astonishing honesty about her struggle to succeed in sailing ... Lily very much had to design her own path to success, something practically impossible in a culture which values unquestioning obedience to elders and those of higher status. How could she possibly overcome these insurmountable barriers? Read her book to find out… Lily's biography is far more than a sailing book; along the way you will gain a great insight into a culture so alien to ours."
— Yachting Life

"A fascinating autobiography."
— Sailing Magazine

"Gain an insight to what makes a gold medallist tick."
— Yachts & Yachting

About the Author

Lijia Xu was born in Shanghai in 1987. Her sports career started at the age of 5 when she was accepted by the Changning District Swimming Team. Lijia's interest in sailing began in 1997 after being approached by the Shanghai Optimist Sailing Coach. From the age of 10 Lijia travelled all year round to sail and train; becoming a full-time sailor shortly after her 10th birthday. Her first National Championship was in the Optimist class, held in Hong Kong in 1998, which she won. In her final two years in this class Lijia won the National, Asia and World Championships, along with the National and Asian Games.

On graduating from the Optimist class Lijia spent two years sailing the Europe class before moving on to the Laser Radial, which has been the Olympic single-handed dinghy for women since 2008. In the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Lijia was awarded the bronze medal. Despite a number of setbacks, including serious injuries, Lijia went on to achieve the Olympic gold medal in single-handed dinghy sailing at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Not only a huge personal achievement, this also catapulted Lijia to become Asia's first ever dinghy sailing gold medallist.

Through much of her time racing a Laser Radial Lijia has been coached by Jon Emmett, a well-respected coach and successful sailor in his own right. Notable accolades have been awarded to Lijia including the 2012 Rolex World Sailor of the Year award, and becoming a Team SCA Ambassador of the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15. Lijia represented China at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She is now studying journalism.

About Fernhurst Books

Fernhurst Books was founded in 1979, initially publishing books related to dinghy racing. The list soon expanded to include cruising and other watersports. In 2006 the business was sold to John Wiley, but in 2013 a group of sailing enthusiasts (including the original founder) bought the list and name back, once again creating an independent nautical publisher owned and run by sailors. Fernhurst continues to publish books that instruct, inform and inspire those with a passion on, in or under the water. Their 140+ titles range from how-to guides to narrative to coffee-table books, covering sailing, surfing, canoeing, kayaking, stand up paddleboarding, swimming, diving and fishing.