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. 

“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