Ku Chin-shui

Ku Chin-shui (Chinese: 古金水; pinyin: Gǔ Jīnshuǐ; Wade–Giles: Ku Chin-shui, 15 January 1960 – 25 May 2016) was an Amis Taiwanese decathlete and pole vaulter. He medaled for Chinese Taipei at the Asian Athletics Championships six times, winning one gold medal, two silver medals, and three bronze medals. At the 1990 Asian Games, he earned a silver medal in the decathlon. Upon retiring from athletics, he became a physical education teacher.^[1]

Ku Chin-shui

Personal information
Native name	古金水
Nationality	Taiwanese
Born	(1960-01-15)15 January 1960 Hualien City, Taiwan
Died	25 May 2016(2016-05-25) (aged 56) Taipei, Taiwan
Height	180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	73 kg (161 lb)
Chinese name
Chinese	古金水
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Gǔ Jīnshuǐ Wade–Giles Ku Chin-shui
Sport
Country	Chinese Taipei
Sport	Men's track and field
Event(s)	Decathlon, pole vault
Achievements and titles
Personal best	Decathlon: 7623 pts (1990)
Medal record Men's athletics Representing  Chinese Taipei Asian Games 1990 Beijing Decathlon Asian Championships 1985 Jakarta Decathlon 1983 Kuwait Pole vault 1983 Kuwait Decathlon 1987 Singapore Pole vault 1989 New Delhi Pole vault 1991 Kuala Lumpur Pole vault

Post-athletic life

On 24 August 1999, an explosion on board a landed Uni Air plane, Flight 873, injured 28 people and killed Ku Jing-chi (C: 古金池, P: Gǔ Jīnchí), the older brother of Ku Chin-shui.

A report from the Aviation Safety Council (ASC) stated that the cause of the fire was the interaction of two luggage items that happened to be in overhead compartments. Firstly, gasoline had leaked from a plastic bottle and, secondly, a motorcycle battery had been jostled, causing an electric arc that ignited fumes from the gasoline.

Prosecutors accused Ku Chin-shui of asking his nephew to take gasoline on the flight.^[2] Ku was convicted and sentenced to ten years in prison. Upon appeal, the sentence was shortened to seven and a half years. After a fifth retrial, he was declared not guilty. The ASC had commissioned an analysis from the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology, which said the ASC's simulation environment differed from that of the aircraft which had exploded."^[2]

The court case caused Ku to lose his teaching position, and he worked part-time at a steel factory until 2008, when he returned to teaching full-time.^[3]

Ku was diagnosed with cancer in 2014^[4] and died of plasma cell leukemia on 25 May 2016 at National Taiwan University Hospital in Taipei.^[1] Aged 56 at the time of his death, Ku was survived by his wife and two children.^[5]

International competitions

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
1983	Asian Championships	Kuwait City, Kuwait	2nd	Pole vault	4.80 m
			2nd	Decathlon	7438 pts
1984	Olympic Games	Los Angeles, United States	16th	Decathlon	7629 pts
1985	Asian Championships	Jakarta, Indonesia	1st	Decathlon	7538 pts[nb1]
1987	Asian Championships	Singapore	3rd	Pole vault	5.10 m
1989	Asian Championships	New Delhi, India	3rd	Pole vault	5.20 m
1990	Asian Games	Beijing, China	2nd	Decathlon	7623 pts
1991	Asian Championships	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	3rd	Pole vault	5.10 m

• ^nb1 This performance was calculated using the 1977 IAAF scoring tables and in the modern 1985 IAAF tables, is worth 7614 points^[6]

See also

• List of Asian Games medalists in athletics
• Uni Air Flight 873, the related aircraft accident