Ku Chin-shui

{{Infobox sportsperson

| headercolor =

| name = Ku Chin-shui

| native_name = 古金水

| native_name_lang = zh-tw

| image =

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| birth_name =

| fullname =

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| nationality = Taiwanese

| residence =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1960|01|15|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Hualien City, Taiwan

| death_date = {{death date and age|2016|5|25|1960|01|15|df=yes}}

| death_place = Taipei, Taiwan

| height = {{height|cm=180}}

| weight = {{convert|73|kg|lb}}

| spouse =

| life_partner =

| country = Chinese Taipei

| sport = Men's track and field

| disability =

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| rank =

| event = Decathlon, pole vault

| collegeteam =

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| retired =

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| worlds =

| regionals =

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| highestranking =

| pb = Decathlon: 7623 pts (1990)

| show-medals =

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{{MedalCountry|{{TPE}}}}

| module = {{Infobox Chinese

| child = yes

| c = {{linktext|古|金|水}}

| p = Gǔ Jīnshuǐ

| w = Ku Chin-shui

}}

Ku Chin-shui ({{zh|c=古金水|p=Gǔ Jīnshuǐ|w=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.{{cite news|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160528183100/http://focustaiwan.tw/news/asoc/201605250017.aspx|archivedate=28 May 2016|last1=Chen|first1=Christie|last2=Lu|first2=Hsin-hui|title=Taiwanese decathlete Ku Chin-shui dies at 56|url=http://focustaiwan.tw/news/asoc/201605250017.aspx|accessdate=25 May 2016|publisher=Central News Agency|date=25 May 2016|via=China Post}} [http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2016/05/26/467333/Prominent-Taiwanese.htm Alt URL]

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.{{cite news |last1=Yang |first1=Yi-chung|translator-last1=Chung |last2=Hsu|first2=Ming-li|translator-first1=Jake|date=14 May 2011|title=Man cleared of 1999 Uni Air accident|url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2011/05/14/2003503216|newspaper=Taipei Times|access-date=21 May 2016}} 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."

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.{{cite news|last1=Shan|first1=Shelley|title=Former track-and-field star Ku Chin-shui dies at 56|url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2016/05/26/2003647162|accessdate=26 May 2016|work=Taipei Times|date=26 May 2016}}

Ku was diagnosed with cancer in 2014{{cite news|last1=Liao|first1=George|title=Chi Cheng: Ku Chin-shui still battling cancer|url=http://www.taiwannews.com.tw/etn/news_content.php?id=2926822|date=22 May 2016|work=Taiwan News|accessdate=25 May 2016}} and died of plasma cell leukemia on 25 May 2016 at National Taiwan University Hospital in Taipei. Aged 56 at the time of his death, Ku was survived by his wife and two children.{{cite news|last1=Liao|first1=George|title=Taiwanese decathlete Ku Chin-shui has died|url=http://www.taiwannews.com.tw/etn/news_content.php?id=2928506|accessdate=25 May 2016|work=Taiwan News|date=25 May 2016}}

International competitions

rowspan=2|1983

|rowspan=2|Asian Championships

|rowspan=2|Kuwait City, Kuwait

|bgcolor=silver|2nd

|Pole vault

|4.80 m

bgcolor=silver|2nd

|Decathlon

|7438 pts

1984

|Olympic Games

|Los Angeles, United States

|16th

|Decathlon

|7629 pts

1985

|Asian Championships

|Jakarta, Indonesia

|bgcolor=gold|1st

|Decathlon

|7538 pts{{ref label|nb1|nb1|nb1}}

1987

|Asian Championships

|Singapore

|bgcolor=cc9966|3rd

|Pole vault

|5.10 m

1989

|Asian Championships

|New Delhi, India

|bgcolor=cc9966|3rd

|Pole vault

|5.20 m

1990

|Asian Games

|Beijing, China

|bgcolor=silver|2nd

|Decathlon

|7623 pts

1991

|Asian Championships

|Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

|bgcolor=cc9966|3rd

|Pole vault

|5.10 m

{{note label|nb1|nb1|nb1}} This performance was calculated using the 1977 IAAF scoring tables and in the modern 1985 IAAF tables, is worth 7614 points[https://web.archive.org/web/20200417175446/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1984/ATH/mens-decathlon.html Athletics at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games: Men's Decathlon]. Sports Reference. Retrieved 2019-08-21.