Golden Lily - Ten Years On

“Lijia Xu is a true sailing champion … an inspiration for sailors, particularly female sailors, around the world. Golden Lily is an enthralling account of Lily’s life … I have nothing but respect for Lily. I commend this book to anyone interested in sailing, sport or the differences between east and west.” (Sir Ben Ainslie) “I was totally fascinated by Lijia Xu’s story. It is quite remarkable that she was able to overcome the rigid demands of the Chinese authorities and obtain a European coach. What she has achieved is therefore all the more remarkable.” (Bob Fisher) “Gain an insight to what makes a gold medallist tick.” (Yachts & Yachting) “Apart from containing a lot of tips to improve their sailing, the book is a gold mine of information for a person looking to improve in any sport or in life in general. Without all the tips, the book is still a ‘must read’ just for the story. Everyone I met who has read the book has been amazed. I guarantee that once you start to read you will not be able to put the book down.” (Jeff Martin, Laser World) “This book provides a fascinating peak into a very different system of living and training. One which Lily both accepted and then eventually broke away from to study in the UK, despite the threats to lose her life-long privileges as an Olympic Champion.” (SailWeb)

Lijia Xu was born in Shanghai in 1987. She was approached to become a sailor in 1997 and from the age of 10 Lijia travelled all year round to sail and train; becoming a full-time sailor shortly after her 10th birthday. She was a double winner of the Optimist World Championships before moving onto Olympic campaigning, winning bronze at Beijing 2008 and gold at London 2012. She is now a sports journalist covering the Olympics and many sailing events.

Jeremy Atkins wrote and privately published four sailing books before buying Fernhurst Books from John Wiley & Sons. He is a past national champion, has run Class Associations worldwide for 20 years and been involved in running sailing clubs for nearly 50 years. He is currently President of Draycote Water Sailing Club and Secretary of the Imperial Poona Yacht Club.