Golden Lily - Ten Years On

Asia’S First Dinghy Sailing Gold Medallist

Lijia Xu, Jeremy Atkins

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English

Fernhurst Books Limited
02 September 2025

Autobiography: sport; Olympic games; Sailing

Series: Making Waves

The fascinating autobiography from Asia's first ever dinghy sailing gold medallist updated to 2025.

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.

AUTHORS: Lijia Xu was born in Shanghai in 1987. She was approached to become a sailor in 1997 and from the age of 10 Lijia travelled all year round to sail and train; becoming a full-time sailor shortly after her 10th birthday. She was a double winner of the Optimist World Championships before moving onto Olympic campaigning, winning bronze at Beijing 2008 and gold at London 2012. She is now a sports journalist covering the Olympics and many sailing events.

Jeremy Atkins wrote and privately published four sailing books before buying Fernhurst Books from John Wiley & Sons. He is a past national champion, has run Class Associations worldwide for 20 years and been involved in running sailing clubs for nearly 50 years. He is currently President of Draycote Water Sailing Club and Secretary of the Imperial Poona Yacht Club.

29 colour photos

By: Lijia Xu
Edited by: Jeremy Atkins
Imprint: Fernhurst Books Limited
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Edition: 2nd New edition
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 129mm,
ISBN: 9781917801003
ISBN 10: 1917801009
Series: Making Waves
Pages: 266
Publication Date: 02 September 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Foreword; Prologue; Chapter 1: Golden Lily; Chapter 2: My Family; Chapter 3: Becoming a Sportswoman; Chapter 4: Training to be a Professional; Chapter 5: My Optimist Years; Chapter 6: My Time in the Europe Class; Chapter 7: Studying English; Chapter 8: Learning from Others; Chapter 9: Getting to Grips with the Laser Radial; Chapter 10: My First Olympics & the Build Up; Chapter 11: My Puppy Love; Chapter 12: A Slow Recovery; Chapter 13: Finally Teaming Up with Jon Emmett; Chapter 14: The Cracks Begin to Show; Chapter 15: Getting Better… Then Worse; Chapter 16: The Final Road to Weymouth; Chapter 17: Olympic Glory; Chapter 18: Heat after London; Chapter 19: A New Path; Chapter 20: My third Olympics; Chapter 21: Mr Jonathan Emmett; Chapter 22: Transitioning to a Sports Media Career; Chapter 23: Post-Olympic Sailing; Chapter 24: Thoughts about China; Chapter 25: Acknowledge the Cultural Differences; Achievements; Bibliography

Lijia Xu was born in Shanghai in 1987. She was approached to become a sailor in 1997 and from the age of 10 Lijia travelled all year round to sail and train; becoming a full-time sailor shortly after her 10th birthday. She was a double winner of the Optimist World Championships before moving onto Olympic campaigning, winning bronze at Beijing 2008 and gold at London 2012. She is now a sports journalist covering the Olympics and many sailing events. Jeremy Atkins wrote and privately published four sailing books before buying Fernhurst Books from John Wiley & Sons. He is a past national champion, has run Class Associations worldwide for 20 years and been involved in running sailing clubs for nearly 50 years. He is currently President of Draycote Water Sailing Club and Secretary of the Imperial Poona Yacht Club.

Reviews for Golden Lily - Ten Years On: Asia’S First Dinghy Sailing Gold Medallist

""Lijia Xu is a true sailing champion ... an inspiration for sailors, particularly female sailors, around the world. Golden Lily is an enthralling account of Lily's life ... I have nothing but respect for Lily. I commend this book to anyone interested in sailing, sport or the differences between east and west."" (Sir Ben Ainslie) ""I was totally fascinated by Lijia Xu's story. It is quite remarkable that she was able to overcome the rigid demands of the Chinese authorities and obtain a European coach. What she has achieved is therefore all the more remarkable."" (Bob Fisher) ""Gain an insight to what makes a gold medallist tick."" (Yachts & Yachting) ""Apart from containing a lot of tips to improve their sailing, the book is a gold mine of information for a person looking to improve in any sport or in life in general. Without all the tips, the book is still a 'must read' just for the story. Everyone I met who has read the book has been amazed. I guarantee that once you start to read you will not be able to put the book down."" (Jeff Martin, Laser World) ""This book provides a fascinating peak into a very different system of living and training. One which Lily both accepted and then eventually broke away from to study in the UK, despite the threats to lose her life-long privileges as an Olympic Champion."" (SailWeb)