In fact, Liu's decision to continue training for another four years after a disappointing performance at the 1996 Olympics (where she failed to make the beam final because of a fall in the team competition) was partly to realize her mother's unfulfilled dream.

[citation needed] In 2000, Liu became China's first Olympic champion on balance beam, as well as its first all-around medalist in women's gymnastics.

[1][2] In March 2012, the bronze medal Liu and her teammates won at the 1999 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships was forfeited to Ukraine for the same reason.

[3] At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Liu served as the on-site gymnastics reporter for Hong Kong broadcaster TVB.

The skill is named after her in the Code of Points,[7][8] but because it was considered too risky for women, it was given a low difficulty rating to discourage gymnasts from attempting it.