Among her first major national competitions was the 2005 Chinese City Games, where she was runner-up to future Olympic medallist Zhang Wenxiu. While Zhang had the second best throw ever by a youth athlete, Liao's throw of 65.13 m (213 ft 8 in) ranked her the fifth best ever youth at that point.[1] She still ranks within the top ten youth hammer throwers, as of 2015.[2] She established herself within the top senior domestic athletes in the 2005 season.[3] She threw a new personal best of 65.53 m (214 ft 11+3⁄4 in) to place fifth at the Chinese Athletics Championships.[4] She came close to her best in the 2006 season with a mark of 65.34 m (214 ft 4+1⁄4 in).[5]
Liao achieved her personal best of 67.78 m (222 ft 4+1⁄2 in) in May 2007 in Zhaoqing.[6] The season was the peak of her career as she won the gold medal at the 2007 Asian Athletics Championships in a comparatively low calibre field, where her throw of 60.58 m (198 ft 9 in) was sufficient to win by several metres.[7] She failed to make the Olympic team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, ending the season with a best of 62.51 m (205 ft 1 in) that year. She had a best of 64.38 m (211 ft 2+1⁄2 in) in 2009, but ceased to compete at a high level thereafter.[6]
