Yuan Joins Men's Gymnastics Staff as Assistant Coach
8/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan men's gymnastics head coach Kurt Golder announced today (Friday, Aug. 5) the hiring of assistant coach Xiao Yuan. Xiao (pronounced "show" as in "how") comes to Michigan after five successful seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Oklahoma. He will be replacing current assistant coach Daniel Diaz-Luong, who will be stepping down from his position at the end of the month to pursue his gymnastics career and his master's degree full time.
While at Oklahoma, Xiao helped guide the Sooners to NCAA team titles in 2002, 2003 and 2005 and runner-up finishes in 2001 and 2004. He also coached 2004 U.S. Olympic silver medalist Guard Young while at OU.
Prior to arriving at OU, Xiao, a native of China, coached several Chinese Olympic and World Championship gymnasts. He has coached athletes who have competed in each of the last three Olympiads. Included in his list of former athletes are Yang Wei and Xing Aowei, both gold medalists from the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games and the 1998 World Championships.
Xiao received his bachelor's degree in physical education from Beijing University in 1988 and has lectured at the USA Gymnastics National Congress in 1998 and 2002. He and his wife Julia, a former Cirque de Soleil performer, have a daughter Pearl.
Contact: Justin Toman (734) 763-4423
