Maybe it's just luck. How else can you explain the suspicious string of successes which have dogged Gao Jun at every step of her career? Gao first picked up a paddle in 1974, then an unsuspecting 5-year-old girl in Mao Zedong's table tennis-crazed China. As a member of the Chinese national team, Gao won numerous medals for her homeland, including women's doubles gold in the 1991 World Championships, and silver in the same discipline at the following year's Olympics. After the unrelenting pressure of representing China in its national sport, Gao retired and emigrated to the United States. "Once you retire from the national team, I felt like I really wanted to leave the sport," she recalled of living in Maryland in the 1990s. "I don't want to say I hated the sport, because table tennis was all in my life, I wanted something new." She claims she never played in those days, only practicing a little before tournaments. Despite her efforts to move on in life, she remained plagued by her winning ways. She went on to win nine national women's singles titles, second all-time behind Insook Bhushan's 11. She also represented the United States in the Olympics three times. Reflecting on her own illustrious career, Gao says the happiest days of her playing career came as a member of the US team. "Playing for the US, that way I really enjoy. I win or I lose, you guys are always there to support me." When her competitive playing days inevitably wound down, Gao found a way to support the team which had always supported her. She began working as an assistant coach for the US national team, gradually assuming greater responsibility over the years. Despite her continued efforts to move on to new chapters in her life, Gao Jun could not escape her past. Eventually, success caught up with her again, as the US national team began to achieve unprecedented results on the international stage. Last year, she led both the women's and men's teams to quarterfinal finishes in the World Cup, their best finishes ever. "Before, when we go to the international tournament, the people think, 'Oh, we play the US team, that means we have an easy match,'" chuckled Gao. "But right now, the feeling is that the US team is doing much better, so they really pay attention on us, so in this way we give them pressure." Now, Gao will herself feel the pressure of being officially appointed the 2021 National Coach for USA Table Tennis. This honor recognizes the work she has been faithfully performing for years, and places the fates of homegrown stars such as Lily Zhang and Kanak Jha in her capable hands ahead of major international events such as the World Championships and Olympics. In the view of USATT High-Performance Director Sean O’Neill, the appointment was a no-brainer. "Coach Gao has earned the trust, respect of our national team members and is directly responsible for our teams qualifying for Tokyo 2020," said O’Neill. "I am so thrilled that USATT is rewarding her efforts with this position to support our national team members." For her part, Coach Gao is prepared to elevate Team USA to rarefied air which only she and an elite few others have breathed. "I am honored to join the USATT staff to help our players both at home and abroad reach the podium," she says. A cursory glance at historical trends suggests that everywhere Gao Jun goes, success follows. Even if it is only luck, USA Table Tennis is clearly the most fortunate.

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