Winner. There may be no better word to describe Gao Jun, the former world #3 from China. Unconvinced? Consider this: Once she emigrated to the United States, the pips-out penholder won every event she entered at the US Nationals from 1996 to 2004. Women's singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles titles all went her way, 23-for-23. Now, Gao has taken her talents to the head coaching position for Team USA. Under her steady hand, both the women's and men's squads reached the quarterfinals of the 2019 ITTF Team World Cup. Born in 1969 in the Hebei Province near Beijing, Gao was raised in the über-competitive crucible of table tennis talent that is China. By 17, she was a member of the Chinese national team. Gao won the women's doubles title at the 1991 World Championships with her compatriot Chen Zihe. In 1994 she retired from the Chinese team and moved to the United States, soon to begin her aforementioned reign of terror. With her trusty racket, Gao kept on racking up national championships, winning her most recent title (women's doubles) in 2012. Not content to dominate domestically, Gao remained a fixture on the world scene. In 2005 she became the first American to win an ITTF Pro Tour event in Chinese Taipei, vaulting her back into the world's top ten more than a decade after her first sniff of the rarefied air. Already a USATT Hall of Fame member, Gao continues to lead the United States into unprecedented global table tennis relevance as a coach. In a recent interview with the ITTF's Amy Ding, Gao put the recent success of Team USA into perspective. In reference to the women's team reaching the quarterfinal last year, Gao admitted she was not exactly overconfident heading into this year's contest. "Our overall strength is far from enough to be sure we could secure this (quarterfinal) result," she said. "This time, the way we adapted and the team spirit helped us reach the top eight." Gao also pointed to the gains that top players like Lily Zhang and Kanak Jha have made by playing in European leagues. "We all know you have to play professionally to get good results. To be professional means you have to practice every day," explained Gao, who trained 10 hours a day in her youth. "Nowadays, young players are all willing to try to play in leagues in Europe." Speaking of top-level training, Gao also discussed the impact of the recent visit by the Chinese national team, who invited Team USA to train with them for several weeks in California. "It is like they throw a big stone into our peaceful lake," Gao waxed poetically. "Our players all cherished this opportunity to train together with Team China." Like any good teacher, Gao pressed her students (i.e. Team USA) to reflect on what they learned during this unique opportunity to train with the best players and coaches in the world. "The perfect detail focused approached impressed them a lot," said Gao. "Unlike Americans or Europeans, Chinese players address every small detail. They do not want to lose even it is just a training session. Under such big pressure, Chinese players can win; it underlines their strength." Gao Jun would certainly know all about the grueling work and tireless perseverance it takes to rise to the top, and Team USA is inestimably strengthened by her skill set and mindset. She is, after all, the very definition of a winner.

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