China at the Olympics explained

Noc:CHN
Nocname:Chinese Olympic Committee
Games:All-time Olympic Games
Rank:3
Gold:325
Silver:258
Bronze:221
See also: (1924–1972)

Originally having participated in Olympics as the delegation of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1924 Summer Olympics to 1976 Winter Olympics, China competed at the Olympic Games under the name of the People's Republic of China (PRC) for the first time at the 1952 Summer Olympics held in Helsinki, Finland, although they only arrived in time during the last days to participate in one event.[1] That year, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed both the PRC and ROC (Republic of China) (which fled to Taiwan after the Chinese Civil War) to compete with the name "China", although the latter withdrew in protest. Due to the dispute over the political status of the "two Chinas", the PRC started a period of isolationism, withdrawing from several international sporting bodies and the UN system until the mid-1970s, when the country participated for the first time in the Asian Games in 1974 and the World University Games in 1977. Returning to the IOC officially only in 1979, which gave it the right to send an official delegation, starting from the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, United States. Their first appearance at the Summer Olympic Games after 1952 was the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, United States.[2] [3]

As of 2024, China has finished first in the Summer Olympics once, second four times, and third twice. With the nation's 12th appearance at the Summer and 12th appearance at the Winter Olympics, China is the most successful country overall in the AsiaOceania region, making them the 3rd most successful country in Olympic history, after the United States and the Soviet Union.

The Chinese Olympic Committee in its current form was recognized in 1979. Before the Chinese Civil War, athletes competed as the Republic of China (ROC) at the Olympics. The ROC continued to compete from 1952 (Summer Olympics) to 1976 (Winter Olympics), but only representing athletes from the island of Taiwan (although the football team members of ROC in the 1960 Summer Olympic Games were overseas Hong Kongers). The dispute over use of the name China resulted in the PRC boycotting the Games completely during these years. In 1979, the International Olympic Committee The two parties signed the Nagoya Protocol in which both National Olympic Committees recognized each other. However, the name "China" would be owned by the National Olympic Committee of the People's Republic of China, based in Beijing. While the Republic of China headquartered in Taipei would be called as Chinese Taipei, which also regulated the use of national symbols during the Games and any related events; this reopened the door for the PRC to finally join the Olympic movement.

Hong Kong has had a distinct National Olympic Committee since 1950 and has competed at the Games since 1952.[4] After the territory was returned to the PRC and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region was created in 1997, this arrangement has continued, with Hong Kong competing independently from the rest of the nation under the name Hong Kong, China. China is ranked fourth by total number of medals in the Olympic Games.

Olympic bids and hosted Games

The People's Republic of China has hosted the Games on two occasions: in 2008 and in 2022. Beijing is the first city to have hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympics.

Hosted Games

Games Host city Dates Nations Participants Events
Beijing August 8–24 204 10,942 302
Beijing February 4–20 91 2,871 109

Unsuccessful bids

GamesCity Winner of bid
Beijing Sydney, Australia
Vancouver, Canada

Overview of Olympic participation

See also: All-time Olympic Games medal table.

Timeline of participation

Olympic
year/s
team
Taiwan
1924 (Chine)[5] [6] as part of Japan
1932–1936 (CHN)
1948
1952 People's Republic
of China (PRC)
1956 Republic of China (CHN)
1960 Formosa (RCF)
1964–1968 Taiwan (TWN)
1972–1976 Republic of China (ROC)
1980 China (CHN)
since 1984 Chinese Taipei (TPE)

China at the Summer Olympics

GamesAthletesstyle = background:gold;width:4.5em;font-weight:bold Goldstyle = background:silver;width:4.5em;font-weight:bold Silverstyle = background:#c96;width:4.5em;font-weight:bold Bronzestyle = width:4.5em;font-weight:bold Totalstyle = width:4.5em;font-weight:bold Rank
align = left did not participate
align = left
align = left
align = left
align = left
align = left
align = left as part of the Republic of China
align = left did not participate
align = left as part of the Republic of China
align = left
align = left
align = left 0 0 0 0
align = left withdrew from the IOC
align = left
align = left
align = left
align = left
align = left
align = left boycotted
align = left 15 8 9 32 4
align = left 5 11 12 28 11
align = left 16 22 16 54 4
align = left 16 22 12 50 4
align = left 28 16 14 58 bgcolor=ffdab9 3
align = left 32 17 14 63 bgcolor=dce5e5 2
align = left 48 22 30 100 bgcolor=f7f6a8 1
align = left 39 31 22 92 bgcolor=dce5e5 2
align = left 26 18 26 70 bgcolor=ffdab9 3
align = left 38 32 19 89 bgcolor=dce5e5 2
align = left 40 27 24 91 bgcolor=dce5e5 2
align = left future event
align = left
Total (12/30) 3,924 303 226 198 727 3

China at the Winter Olympics

GamesAthletesGoldSilverBronzeTotalRank
did not participate
align=left 0 0 0 0
align=left 0 0 0 0
align=left 0 0 0 0
align=left 0 3 0 3 15
align=left 0 1 2 3 19
align=left 0 6 2 8 16
align=left 2 2 4 8 13
align=left 2 4 5 11 14
align=left 5 2 4 11 7
align=left 3 4 2 9 12
align=left 1 6 2 9 16
align=left 9 4 2 15 4
Total (12/24) 746 22 32 23 77 16

Medals by sports

See main article: List of Olympic medalists for China.

Medals by summer sport

Chinese athletes have won medals in most of the current Summer Olympics sports.
The exceptions are triathlon, equestrian, rugby, skateboarding, surfing and water polo.

Medals by winter sport

Chinese athletes have won medals in 7 out of 15 current Winter Olympics sports.
Most of the golds and half of the medals come from the sport of short track speed skating.

Best results in non-medaling sports:

Summer
SportRankAthleteEvent & Year
8thAlex Hua TianIndividual eventing in 2016
6thChina women's teamWomen's tournament in 2024
4thCui ChenxiWomen's street in 2024
15thYang SiqiWomen's shortboard in 2024
28thLin XinyuWomen's individual in 2024
5thChina women's teamWomen's tournament in 2008
Women's tournament in 2012
Winter
SportRankAthleteEvent & Year
16thMen's combined in 2022
5thYu ShumeiWomen's sprint in 1998
6thHuai MingmingWomen's monobob in 2022
10thChi Chunxue
Li Xin
Jialin Bayani
Ma Qinghua
Women's 4 × 5 km relay in 2022
4thChina women's teamWomen's tournament in 1998
12thWang Peixuan
Fan Duoyao
Huang Yebo & Peng Junyue
Mixed team relay in 2022
10thZhao Zihe
Zhao Jiawen
Guo Yuhao
Fan Haibin
Men's team large hill/4 × 5 km in 2022
10thDong Bing

Song Qiwu
Zhao Jiawen
Mixed team in 2022

Flagbearer

Summer Games

GamesOpeningGenderSportClosingGenderSport
align=left Wang LibinM
align=left Song TaoM
align=left Song LigangM
align=left Liu YudongM
align=left
align=left Yao MingMLiu XiangM
align=left Zhang NingF
align=left Yi JianlianMXu LijiaF
align=left Lei ShengMDing NingF
Zhao ShuaiMSu BingtianM
Zhu TingF
Ma LongMLi FabinM
Feng YuFOu ZixiaF

Winter Games

GamesOpeningGenderSportClosingGenderSport
align=left Zhao WeichangM
align=left Zhao ShijianM
align=left Zhang ShubinM
align=left Song ChenM
align=left Liu GongfeiM
align=left Zhao HongboM
align=left Zhang MinM
align=left Yang Yang (A)FHan XiaopengM
align=left Han XiaopengMZhao HongboM
align=left Tong JianMLiu QiuhongF
align=left Zhou YangFWu DajingM
Gao TingyuMGao TingyuM
Zhao DanFXu MengtaoF

History

Early appearance and hiatus

After the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, PRC sent a delegation to the Olympic Games for the first time at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. The Chinese delegation (including athletes and officials) consisted of 38 men and 2 women,[7] including the men's football team, the men's basketball team, and one swimmer. Only the swimmer arrived in time to take part in the official competition, and the football team played two friendly matches.[8] The Chinese stayed ten days in Helsinki and participated in the closing ceremony. The Republic of China's (ROC) team withdrew from the Games on July 17 in response to the IOC's decision to allow both PRC and ROC sportsmen and women to compete.[9] This marked the beginning of the "two Chinas" conflict in the Olympic Movement, which resulted in the Chinese Olympic Committee's withdrawal from the IOC in August 1958.

In the 1970s, China normalized her relations with the United States through Ping Pong Diplomacy, and established diplomatic relations with the United States on January 1, 1979. The normalization finally led to the Chinese Olympic Committee's return to the IOC on October 25, 1979.[7]

Sports summary

Till 2012, China won three-quarters of their gold medals (152 out of 201) and two-thirds of their medals (311 out of 473) in six sports: table tennis, badminton, diving, gymnastics, weightlifting, and shooting.

China recently dominated the gold medals in three of them, table tennis, badminton and diving. China won all golds four times in table tennis and one time in badminton, and won three-quarters of all diving golds since 1992.

The total dominance in table tennis and badminton also leads to negative consequences. Due to the low participations among non-Asian countries, these two sports may lose their positions in the Summer Olympics just like baseball and softball did after 2008.

While through the years, Chinese athletes got many breakthroughs in other sports that are traditionally China's weak sports. Among them, swimming is the potential one that may get into top five sports of China in the near future.

1984

China won 15 golds and ranked 4th at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Xu Haifeng won the first-ever gold medal for China in the shooting event of 50 m Pistol. It was called "a break through zero" – an event that brought great joy to the whole Chinese nation.

Li Ning won six medals in gymnastics, 3 golds, 2 silvers, and 1 bronze, earning him the nickname "Prince of Gymnasts" in China.[10] Six medals in a single Olympics is still the record for any Chinese athlete.

Chinese women's volleyball team defeated USA women's team in the final and won China's first ball-game gold medal.

1988

China won 5 golds and ranked 11th at the 1988 Summer Olympics at Seoul, South Korea.

Li Meisu won China's first medal in athletics.

China also won first medals in rowing. A silver in women's coxed fours and a bronze in women's eights

1992

China won 16 golds and ranked 4th at the 1992 Summer Olympics at Barcelona, Spain.

Chen Yueling won China's first athletics gold medal in women's 10 km walk.

Chinese female swimmers glittered with 4 golds and 5 silvers. But the success was later shadowed by the doping incident of Chinese swimmers just two years later at the 1994 Asian Games, although none of the medalists in 1992 was involved in the 1994 incident.

Deng Yaping won two table tennis golds in women's singles and women's doubles. IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch presented the gold medal to her after a promise made a year ago at 1991 World Table Tennis Championships.

Zhuang Xiaoyan won China's first judo gold medal in women's +72kg.

Zhang Xiaodong won silver medal in women's board (lechner), China's first medal in sailing.

Chinese women's basketball team lost final to Unified team, winning silver medal, China's best result in basketball.

1996

China won 16 golds and ranked 4th again at the 1996 Summer Olympics at Atlanta, USA.

Fu Mingxia won two diving golds in women's 3 m springboard and women's 10 m platform, becoming the first female diver to accomplish this feat since 1960.

Deng Yaping won two golds in table tennis again, making her the first Chinese athlete to defend two events and win four Olympic gold medals. IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch presented the gold medal to her again after a promise made four years ago at 1992 Olympics.

Liu Guoliang also won two table tennis golds in men's events. China won all four golds in table tennis for the first time.

Wang Junxia won gold in women's 5000 m and silver in women's 10000 m.

Chinese women's football team lost final to the USA team, winning silver medal, China's first medal in football.

2000

China won 28 golds and ranked 3rd at the 2000 Summer Olympics at Sydney, Australia.

Wang Nan won two golds in table tennis, China again won all four golds in table tennis.

Chen Zhong won China's first taekwondo gold medal in women's +67kg.

Jiang Cuihua won bronze in women's track time trial, China's first medal in cycling.No ball-games team entered the final four, the worst performance China's since Olympic history.

2004

China won 32 golds and ranked 2nd at the 2004 Summer Olympics at Athens, Greece.

Liu Xiang became the first Chinese male athlete to win gold medal in an Olympic track event, 110 m hurdles, equaling the world record of 12.91 seconds. He became the China's flag bearer at the closing ceremony. Liu broke the world record with 12.88 seconds two years later in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Wang Yifu participated the Olympics for the record six consecutive times. He won gold in 10 m air pistol, his second gold and fourth medal in the event.

Meng Guanliang and Yang Wenjun won China's first canoeing gold medal in men's C-2 500 m.

Li Ting and Sun Tiantian won China's first tennis gold medal in women's doubles.

Wang Xu won China's first wrestling gold medal in women's freestyle 72 kg.

Chinese women's volleyball team come back from 0–2 deficit to defeat Russia women's team 3–2 in the final, winning China's second ball-game gold medal after 20 years.

2008

As host country, China won 48 golds, 22 silvers and 30 bronze, total 100 medals, ranked 1st at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Guo Jingjing won two golds in diving, becoming the first Chinese diver to defend two events successfully.

Zhang Yining won two golds in table tennis, becoming the second Chinese table tennis player to defend two events successfully after Deng Yaping.

Ma Lin also won two table tennis golds in men's events. China won all four golds in table tennis for the third time.

Zhong Man won China's first men's fencing gold in men's sabre, 24 years after Luan Jujie won China's first women's fencing gold in 1984.

Zhang Juanjuan won China's first archery gold in women's individual, breaking the long-time Korean dominance in the sport.

Zou Shiming and Zhang Xiaoping won China's first boxing golds in men's events.

Yin Jian won China's first sailing gold in sailboard event in women's sailboard.

China won first rowing gold in women's quadruple sculls.

Chinese gymnasts won 11 golds, the best in history. Zou Kai won 3 golds in one team event and two individual events.

China's top star Liu Xiang pulled out of the first round of 110 m hurdles due to injury.

2012

China won 38 golds and finished 2nd at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Great Britain.

Sun Yang, the men's 1500 m freestyle world-record-holder before the Olympics, became the first Chinese male swimmer to win gold in Olympics. He won two golds in men's 400 m freestyle and men's 1500 m freestyle, breaking the Olympic record and his own world record respectively.

Ye Shiwen became the first Chinese female swimmer to win two golds in a single Olympics. She won golds in women's 200 m medley and women's 400 m medley, breaking the Olympic record and world record respectively.

Chen Ding won gold in men's 20 km walk, becoming the second Chinese male athlete to win Olympic athletics gold medal after Liu Xiang did in 2004.

Chen Ruolin won two golds in diving, becoming the second Chinese diver to defend two events successfully after Guo Jingjing.

Wu Minxia won diving gold in women's sync 3m springboard, becoming the only Chinese athlete to win three gold medals in a single event. She also won gold in women's 3m springboard, giving her all three medals in three participations in this event after silver in 2004 and bronze in 2008.

Zou Kai won two golds in gymnastics, becoming the only Chinese athlete to win five gold medals in Olympics.

Xu Lijia won gold in women's laser radial class, China's first gold medal in the sailboat event of sailing. She later became the China's flag bearer at the closing ceremony.

Lin Dan won badminton gold in men's singles, becoming the first athlete to defend the men's singles title in Olympic badminton history.

Zhao Yunlei won two golds in two badminton double events, becoming the only athlete to win two badminton gold medals in a single Olympics.

Cao Zhongrong won silver in men's event of modern pentathlon, China's first medal in the sport.

Chinese table tennis team won all four golds for the fourth time. Chinese badminton team won all five golds for the first time, but was a little shadowed by the disqualification of China's top seed women's double duo for not using best efforts.

China's top star Liu Xiang pulled out of the first round of 110 m hurdles due to injury again. Two of his three pull-outs in 12 years' career came from two Olympics first round heats.

No Chinese ball-game teams entered the final four, the worst performance in Chinese Summer Olympics history.

2016

China won 26 golds and ranked 3rd at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Sun Yang won a gold medal in men's 200 m freestyle, becoming the only Chinese male swimmer to have won gold in 2 Olympic games.

Gong Jinjie and Zhong Tianshi won China's first cycling gold medal in women's team sprint.

Feng Shanshan won China's first golf medal.

Dong Bin set a new personal best (17.58 meters) in the men's triple jump event and won a bronze medal. This was China's first medal from Olympic triple jump events.

Chinese women's volleyball team won a third gold medal after 12 years.

Wu Minxia defended her Women's 3m Synchro event for the fourth time, becoming the only Chinese athlete to ever do so. This also makes her the most successful Chinese athlete of all time, with 5 Golds, 1 Silver, and 1 Bronze.

2020

China won 38 gold, 32 silver, 18 bronze medals and ranked 2nd at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan in August 2021.

Su Bingtian finished the men's 100 m semi-final with a new Asian Record at 9.83 seconds, and became the first Chinese athlete and second Asian athlete to compete in a 100 m final, in which he finished as the 6th place. He was also the flag bearer in the closing ceremony. With him, Chinese relay team won China's first medal in athletic relays.

Gong Lijiao won a gold medal in women's shot put and become the first ever Chinese athlete to won a gold medal in any field events and the first Asian to win an Olympic gold medal in women's shot put.

Liu Shiying won a gold medal in women's javelin throw. She became the first Asian and Chinese to win a gold medal in Olympic javelin throw events.

Lü Xiaojun lifted a combined weight of 374 kg to win a gold medal in the men's 81 kg weightlifting event. This was his third Olympic medal. He also became the oldest weightlifter champion (37 years and 4 days) in modern Olympics. He became the first ever Chinese athlete to win three gold medals in an individual event, after promoted a gold medal.

2024

China won 40 gold, 27 silver, 24 bronze medals, and ranked 2nd at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France in August 2024, their best result after the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Zheng Qinwen won the gold medal in women's singles tennis, marking China's and Asia's first-ever gold in the Olympic singles tennis event; meanwhile, Zhang Zhizhen and Wang Xinyu won the silver in the mixed doubles, making China the most successful team in tennis at this Olympics.[11]

Deng Yawen won China's first gold medal in women's BMX freestyle.

Pan Zhanle won China's first gold in men's 100 m freestyle, breaking Olympic, Asian, and his own world record with a time of 46.40.[12] With him, the Chinese swimming relay team won China's first gold in 4 x 100 m medley relay, topping the American swimming relay team and their undefeated gold when they participated since its introduction.[13]

Chang Yuan, Wu Yu, and Li Qian all won gold medals with Yang Wenlu and Yang Liu winning silver medals in their respective weight classes, China's best result for boxing.

The Chinese diving team won all 8 gold medals in diving, the first all-golds in diving since the introduction of synchronized diving.[14]

Liu Qingyi won a bronze medal in breaking, its inaugural event at the Olympics.

The Chinese artistic swimming team won gold in the team event, with Wang Liuyi and Wang Qianyi winning gold in the duet event. These were the first golds for China in artistic swimming.

The Chinese women's field hockey team won silver, their best result yet.

The Chinese table tennis team won all five golds for the first time since the mixed event addition in 2020. Ma Long also won his sixth gold medal, putting him as the Chinese Olympian with the most gold medals.[15]

Winter Games

Sports summary

China won medals in only 6 of the 15 Winter Olympics sports. Most of the golds and half of the medals come from short track speed skating.

1980–1988

No medals.

1992–1998

Ye Qiaobo won China's first Winter Olympics medal in speed skating.

Chen Lu won consecutive bronze medals in 1994 and 1998, becoming the first Chinese figure skater to medal at the Winter Olympic Games.

2002

Yang Yang (A) won first Winter Olympics gold medal in short track speed skating, as the first gold medal for Team China in Olympic Winter Games.

2006

Han Xiaopeng, first male athlete to win Winter Olympics gold medal in freestyle skiing.

2010

Wang Meng shined in short track speed skating with three golds.

Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo finally won figure skating gold in the event of pair skating after four participations.

Wang Bingyu and her team (Yue Qingshuang, Liu Yin, Zhou Yan and Liu Jinli) created history by winning the first curling Olympic medal for China in the women's tournament.

2014

China won 3 gold, 4 silver, 2 bronze medals and ranked 12th at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia in February 2014.

Zhang Hong won first Chinese gold medal in speed skating.

2018

China won 1 gold, 6 silver, 2 bronze medals and ranked 16th at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea in February 2018.

Liu Jiayu won first ever Olympic medal in snowboarding for China.

Wu Dajing became the first Chinese male short track speed skating Olympic champion by breaking the world record at the 500-metre event.

2022

China won 9 gold, 4 silver, 2 bronze medals and ranked 3rd at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China in February 2022, as the first ever home winter games.

Ailing Eileen Gu became the first ever freestyle skier to win three medals at one Olympic Game, the first female Chinese gold medalist in freestyle skiing, and the most successful freestyle skier ever in Olympic freestyle skiing event (with 2 gold medals and 1 silver medals).

Yan Wengang won the first ever medal in skeleton for Team China, bronze in men's single.

Xu Mengtao finally won the first ever gold in women's aerial since the first silver medal won by Xu Nannan in Nagano 1998 and 5 silver medals & 2 bronze medals won by Team China in this event at former games.

Su Yiming became the first Chinese athlete to win a gold in Olympic snowboarding events.

Gao Tingyu became the first Chinese male athlete to win a gold in Olympic speed skating events.

Medalists

Summer Olympics

Since Chinese athletes are more likely to compete in more than one event in the sport of diving, gymnastics, table tennis, swimming, and more likely to compete in several Olympic games in the sport of shooting, most multiple medalists listed in the following three tables come from these five sports.

Multiple medalists

This is a list of Chinese athletes who have won at least three gold medals or five medals at the Summer Olympics.

NameSportYearsPlayedGenderGoldSilverBronzeTotal
6 Gold medals
2012–2024 4 M 6 0 0 6
5 Gold medals
2004–2016 4 F 5 1 1 7
2008–2012 2 M 5 0 1 6
2008–2016 3 F 5 0 0 5
4 Gold medals
1996–2008 4 F 4 2 0 6
1992–2000 3 F 4 1 0 5
Wang Nan2000–2008 3 F 4 1 0 5
2016–2020 2 F 4 0 0 4
2000–2008 3 M 4 0 1 5
1992–1996 2 F 4 0 0 4
2004–2008 2 F 4 0 0 4
Chen Meng2020–20242F4004
3 Gold medals
1984–1988 2 M 3 2 1 6
2008–2016 3 M 3 2 1 6
2000–2008 3 M 3 2 0 5
1988–2000 4 M 3 1 1 5
2008–2012 2 M 3 1 0 4
2012–2016 2 M 3 1 0 4
2012–2016 2 F 3 1 0 4
2012–2016 2 F 3 1 0 4
2004–2008 2 M 3 0 0 3
5 or more medals
1992–1996 2 M 2 3 1 6
1984–2004 6 M 2 3 1 6
2004–2012 3 M 2 3 0 5
1984–1988 2 M 2 2 1 5
2008–2016 3 M 2 1 2 5
2008–2020 4 W 0 5 2 7
2012–2020 3 W 0 5 0 6

Multiple gold medalists at a single game

This is a list of Chinese athletes who have won at least two gold medals at a single Summer Olympics. Order first by golds, then by sports, then by year.

NameSportYearGenderGoldSilverBronzeTotal
3 Gold medals
1984 M 3 2 1 6
2008 M 3 0 0 3
2 Gold medals
Artistic swimming
2024 F 2 0 0 2
2024 F 2 0 0 2
Badminton
2012 F 2 0 0 2
Diving
1996 F 2 0 0 2
2000 M 2 0 0 2
2004 F 2 0 0 2
2008 F 2 0 0 2
2008 F 2 0 0 2
2012 F 2 0 0 2
2012 F 2 0 0 2
Chen Aisen 2016 M 2 0 0 2
2016 F 2 0 0 2
Xie Siyi 2020 M 2 0 0 2
2020 F 2 0 0 2
2024 F 2 0 0 2
Gymnastics
2000 M 2 0 0 2
2008 M 2 0 0 2
2008 M 2 1 0 3
2008 M 2 0 0 2
2008 M 2 0 0 2
2008 F 2 0 0 2
2012 M 2 0 1 3
2012 M 2 0 0 2
Swimming
2012 M 2 1 1 4
Ye Shiwen 2012 F 2 0 0 2
Zhang Yufei 2020F 2 2 0 4
Table tennis
1992 F 2 0 0 2
1996 F 2 0 0 2
1996 M 2 0 0 2
Wang Nan2000 F 2 0 0 2
2004 F 2 0 0 2
2008 F 2 0 0 2
2008 M 2 0 0 2
2012 F 2 0 0 2
2012 M 2 0 0 2
Ma Long 2016 M 2 0 0 2
2016 F 2 0 0 2
Ma Long 2020 M 2 0 0 2
Chen Meng 2020 F 2 0 0 2

Multiple medalists in a single event

This is a list of Chinese athletes who have won at least three medals in a single event at Summer Olympics. Order first by medals, then by sport, then by golds.

NameSportEventYearsPlayedGenderGoldSilverBronzeMedalTotal
4 Gold medals
align=left Women's Synchro 3m Springboard 2004–2016 4 F 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 4–0–0 4
4 medals
align=left Team 2008–2020 4 F 2012, 2016, 2020 2008 0–3–1 4
align=left Men's 10 m air pistol 1984–2004 52 M 1992, 2004 1996, 2000 2–2–0 4
align=left Men's Individual Trampoline 2008–2020 4 M 2012 2016, 2020 2008 1–2–1 4
3 Gold medals
align=left Lü Xiaojun Men's 77/81 kg5 2012–2020 3 M 2012, 2016, 2020 3–0–0 3
align=left Ma Long Men's team 2012–2020 3 M 2012, 2016, 2020 3–0–0 3
align=left Women's Synchro 10m platform 2008–2016 3 F 2008, 2012, 2016 3–0–0 3
3 medals
align=left Duet2012–2020 3 F 2016, 2020 2012 0–2–1 3
align=left Liu Hong Women's 20 km walk2008–2020 4 M 2016 2012 2020 1–1–1 3
align=left Men's light flyweight 2004–2012 3 M 2008, 2012 2004 2–0–1 3
align=left Chen Long Men's singles2012–2020 3 M 2016 2020 2012 1–1–1 3
align=left Men's doubles2004–2016 4 M 2012, 2016 2008 2–1–0 3
align=left Women's Synchro 3 m Springboard 1996–2008 33 F 2004, 2008 2000 2–1–0 3
align=left Women's 3 m Springboard 1996–2008 33 F 2004, 2008 2000 2–1–0 3
align=left Men's Synchro 3 m Springboard 2008–2016 3 M 2008, 2012 2016 2–0–1 3
align=left Women's 3 m Springboard 2004–2012 3 F 2012 2004 2008 1–1–1 3
align=left Men's 3 m Springboard 1984–1992 3 M 1984, 1988, 1992 0–3–0 3
align=left Men's parallel bars2000–2008 3 M 2000, 2008 2004 2–0–1 3
align=left Chen Jing4 Women's singles 1988–2000 3 F 1988 1996 2000 1–1–1 3
align=left Gong Lijiao Women's shot put 2008–2020 4 F 2020 2012 2008 1–1–1 3
align=left Men's 10 m air pistol 2008–2020 4 M 2008 2016, 2020 1–0–2 3
align=left Men's singles 2004–2012 3 M 2004, 2008, 2012 0–3–0 3
align=left Team 2012–2020 3 F 2012, 2016, 2020 0–3–0 3
align=left Men's Greco-Roman 57/58 kg6 1992–2000 3 M 1992, 1996, 2000 0–0–3 3

2 Wang Yifu competed at six Olympic Games from 1984 to 2004. But 10 m air pistol was introduced to the Olympics after 1988. So he competed five times in the event. He ranked 15th in 1988 and ranked top two at the next four Olympics.

3 Guo Jingjing competed at four Olympic Games from 1996 to 2008. She ranked 5th in the event of 10m platform diving in 1996 at the age of 15. After that, due to rapid increase of height and weight, she switched to more suitable springboard diving. She competed in two 3m springboard events in the next three Olympics and got six medals.

4 Chen Jing competed for China in 1988, and for Chinese Taipei in 1996 and 2000.

5 The category was 77 kg in 2012 and 2016 Olympics, and then changed to 81 kg in 2000.

6 The category was 57 kg in 1992 and 1996 Olympics, and then changed to 58 kg in 2000.

Most appearances

This is a list of Chinese athletes who competed in at least four Summer Olympics. Still active athletes are marked in bold. Age 15- and 40+ are marked in bold.

NameSportGenderBorn YearGames YearFirst/Last AgeBest ResultGoldSilverBronzeMedalTotal
6 appearances
align=left M 1960 1984–2004 23–43 Gold 1992, 2004 1992, 1996, 2000 1984 2–3–1 6
5 appearances
align=left M 1969 1988–2004 18–34 Silver 2000, 2004 0–2–0 2
align=left M 1971 1996–2012 24–40 Silver 2008 0–1–0 1
align=left Gong Lijiao F 1989 2008–2024 19–35 Gold 2020 2012 2008 1–1–1 3
4 appearances
Diving
align=left M 1974 1988–2000 14–26 Gold 1996, 2000x2 1988 1992 3–1–1 5
align=left F 1981 1996–2008 14–26 Gold 2004x2, 2008x2 2000x2 4–2–0 6
align=left W 1985 2004–2016 18–30 Gold 2004, 2008, 2012x2, 2016 2004 2008 5–1–1 7
Badminton
align=left M 1983 2004–2016 20–32 Gold 2008, 2012 2–0–0 2
align=left M 1984 2004–2016 20–32 Gold 2012, 2016 2008 2–1–0 3
Athletics
align=left F 1986 2004–2016 18–30 Silver 2008,2016 2012 0–2–1 3
Shooting
align=left F 1982 2004–2016 22–34 Gold 2004, 2008 2016 2016 2–1–1 4
align=left M 1984 2004–2016 19–31 Gold 2004 2008 1–1–0 2
align=left F 1977 2004–2016 26–38 Gold 2008 2012 1–1–0 2
align=left Wei Ning F 1982 2004–2016 22–34 Silver 2004, 2012 0–2–0 2
align=left Hu Binyuan M 1977 2004–2016 27–39 Bronze 2008 0–0–1 1
Fencing
align=left Luan Jujie6 F 1958 1984–1988, 2000, 2008 26–50 Gold 1984 1–0–0 1
align=left F 1971 1988–2000 17–29 5
2000
0-0-0 0
align=left M 1973 1992–2004 18–30 Silver 2000, 2004 0–2–0 2
align=left F 1981 2000–2012 19–31 Gold 2012 2000 1–0–1 2
Basketball
align=left F 1967 1984–1996 17–29 Silver 1992 1984 0–1–1 2
align=left M 1974 1996–2008 22–34 8
1996, 2004, 2008
0-0-0 0
align=left M 1977 1996–2000, 2008–2012 19–35 8
1996, 2008
0-0-0 0
align=left F 1983 2004–2016 21–33 4
2008
0-0-0 0
align=left M 1987 2004–2016 17–29 8
2004, 2008
0-0-0 0
Table tennis
align=left Ma Long M 1988 2012–2024 24–35 Gold2012, 2016x2, 2020x2, 2024 - - 6–0–0 6

6 Luan Jujie competed for China in 1984, winning China's first Olympic fencing gold. She moved to Canada in 1985 and competed for Canada in 1988, 2000, and 2008.

The youngest and oldest gold medalists

NameGenderBorn DateEvent DateSportEventAge
The 5 youngest gold medalists
align=left F August 16, 1978 July 27, 1992 Women's 10 m platform
align=left F March 28, 2007 August 5, 2021 Women's 10 m platform
align=left F February 20, 2001 August 18, 2016 Women's 10 m platform
align=left F December 12, 1992 August 12, 2008 Women's synchronized 10 m platform
align=left F December 12, 1992 August 21, 2008 Women's 10 m platform
The 5 oldest gold medalists
align=left M December 4, 1960 August 14, 2004 Men's 10 m air pistol
align=left M July 27, 1984 July 31, 2021 Men's 81 kg
align=left F May 19, 1975 August 16, 2008 Women's singles
align=left M June 25, 1975 August 17, 2008 Men's 50 m rifle 3 positions
align=left M August 23, 1983 August 19, 2016 Men's doubles

Winter Olympics

Multiple medalists

This is a list of Chinese athletes who have won at least two gold medals or three medals at the Winter Olympics. Still active athletes are marked in bold.

NameSportYearsPlayedGenderGoldSilverBronzeTotal
2 or more Gold medals
align=left 2006–2010 2 F 4 1 1 6
align=left 2010–2018 3 F 3 0 0 3
align=left Wu Dajing 2014–2022 3 M 2 2 1 5
align=left 1998–2006 3 F 2 2 1 5
3 or more medals
align=left 1998–2010 4 F 1 0 2 3
align=left 1998–2010 4 M 1 0 2 3
align=left 1994–2002 3 F 0 4 1 5
align=left 1994–2006 4 M 0 2 3 5
align=left Han Tianyu 2014–2018 2 M 0 2 1 3
align=left 1992–1994 2 F 0 2 1 3
align=left 1998–2002 2 F 0 2 1 3

Multiple gold medalists at a single game

This is a list of Chinese athletes who have won at least two gold medals at a single Winter Olympics. Order first by golds, then by sports, then by year.

NameSportYearsGenderGoldSilverBronzeTotal
3 Gold medals
align=left 2010 F 3 0 0 3
2 Gold medals
align=left 2002 F 2 1 0 3
align=left 2010 F 2 0 0 2

Multiple medalists in a single event

This is a list of Chinese athletes who have won at least three medals in a single event at Winter Olympics. Order first by medals, then by sport, then by golds.

NameSportEventYearsPlayedGenderGoldSilverBronzeMedalTotal
3 medals
align=left Pair skating 1998–2010 4 F 2010 2002, 2006 1–0–2 3
align=left Pair skating 1998–2010 4 M 2010 2002, 2006 1–0–2 3

Most appearances

This is a list of Chinese athletes who competed in at least four Winter Olympics. Still active athletes are marked in bold.

NameSportGenderBorn YearGames YearFirst/Last AgeBest ResultGoldSilverBronzeMedalTotal
5 appearances
align=left Zhang Hao M 1984 2002–2018 18–34 silver 2006 0–1–0 1
4 appearances
align=left F 1978 1998–2010 20–32 Gold 2010 2002, 2006 1–0–2 3
align=left M 1973 1998–2010 25–37 Gold 2010 2002, 2006 1–0–2 3
align=left M 1975 1994–2006 19–31 Silver 1998, 2002 1998, 2002, 2006 0–2–3 5
align=left F 1973 1994–2006 21–33 Silver 2006 0–1–0 1
align=left F 1979 2002–2014 22–34 Silver 2010 0–1–0 1
align=left M 1979 2002–2014 22–34 Silver 2010 0–1–0 1
align=left F 1977 1998–2010 21–33 7
1998, 2006
0-0-0 0

The youngest and oldest gold medalists

NameGenderBorn DateEvent DateSportEventAge
The 5 youngest gold medalists
align=left M February 18, 2004 February 15, 2022 Men's big air
align=left F September 3, 2003 February 8, 2022 Women's big air
align=left F September 3, 2003 February 18, 2022 Women's halfpipe
align=left F June 9, 1991 February 20, 2010 Women's 1500 metres
align=left F June 9, 1991 February 24, 2010 Women's 3000 metre relay
The 5 oldest gold medalists
align=left M September 22, 1973 February 15, 2010 Pair skating
align=left F July 12, 1990 February 14, 2022 Women's aerials
align=left M October 20, 1990 February 16, 2022 Men's aerials
align=left F November 13, 1978 February 15, 2010 Pair skating
align=left F August 6, 1992 February 19, 2022 Pair skating

Milestones

Summer Games

Winter Games

Hosting Olympic logo and mottos

2008 Summer Olympics

The 2008 Summer Olympics marks the milestone for China, where this was the first time it hosting the Olympic Games. The country's capital, Beijing, was chosen as the host city. The motto of the Olympic Games at that time is One World One Dream (同一个世界 同一个梦想)

2014 Summer Youth Olympics

The 2014 Summer Youth Olympicsmarks the second time China hosted the Olympics, but it was held in Nanjing. Its motto is Share the Games, Share our Dreams (分享青春, 共筑未来)

2022 Winter Olympics

The 2022 Winter Olympics marks the third time China hosted the Olympics, and the second time held in Beijing. The motto of this game is Together for a Shared Future (一起向未来) . Its previous motto was Joyful Rendezvous Upon Pure Ice and Snow (纯洁的冰雪 激情的约会)

Doping

See main article: Doping in China. Throughout their entire Olympic history, China currently has been stripped of a total of 3 Olympic medals due to a doping violation. All three cases were of female weightlifters, Lei Cao, Xiexia Chen, and Chunhong Liu, who were caught doping from the 2008 Beijing Olympics.[18]

A former Chinese doctor named Xue Yinxian has claimed the occurrence of alleged systematic doping of Chinese athletes in the Olympic Games (and other international sport events) in 2012 and 2017. She claims more than 10,000 athletes in China were doped in the systematic Chinese government doping program and that they received performance-enhancing drugs in the 1980s and 1990s. She claims that all international medals (both in the Olympics and other international competitions) that were won by Chinese athletes in the 1980s and 1990s must be revoked. This is contrary to previous statements by the Chinese government that had denied involvement in systematic doping and claimed that athletes doped individually. The International Olympic Committee and World Anti-Doping Agency investigated these allegations with no conclusions or actions taken.[19] [20] [21] [22] [23]

Disqualified/upgraded medalists

Disqualified medalists

China has had four Olympic medals stripped after disqualifications. Three female weightlifters (Lei Cao, Xiexia Chen, Chunhong Liu) lost their medals from the 2008 Olympics due to doping violations. Additionally, the women's gymnastics team was stripped of a bronze medal from the 2000 Olympics after it was discovered that Dong Fangxiao was underage during the competition.[24] [25] [26]

See main article: 2000 Summer Olympics medal table, 2008 Summer Olympics medal table and List of stripped Olympic medals.

Upgraded medalists

See main article: 1988 Summer Olympics medal table, 2000 Summer Olympics medal table, 2008 Summer Olympics medal table, 2012 Summer Olympics medal table, 2016 Summer Olympics medal table and 2020 Summer Olympics medal table.

Original PlaceUpgraded MedalNameOlympicsSportEventDate
4th place
4th place
4th place
4th place
5th place
4th place
4th place
5th place
4th place
4th place
6th place
4th placeTeam China

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://en.olympic.cn/games/summer/2004-03-27/121663.html 10th–15th Olympic Games: 1936–1952
  2. http://en.olympic.cn/games/summer/2004-03-27/121671.html 23rd Olympic Games: Los Angeles 1984
  3. News: Chinese get preparations training for Rio Games. July 31, 2016. September 6, 2016. September 4, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170904015205/http://en.omriyadat.com/asian-athletics/chinese-get-preparations-training-for-rio-games. dead.
  4. http://www.hkolympic.org/article/sfoc_history SF&OC History
  5. [Republic of China at the 1924 Summer Olympics|China]
  6. Book: Les Jeux de la VIIIe Olympiade Paris 1924 – Rapport Officiel . M. Avé . Librairie de France . Paris . fr . 16 October 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110505162957/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1924/1924.pdf . 5 May 2011 . 39 seulement s'alignérent, ne représentant plus que 24 nations, la Chine, le Portugal et la Yougoslavie ayant déclaré forfait. . dead .
  7. Olympic Review . . Monique Berlioux . 190–191 . August–September 1983 . China and Olympism . 583–592 . August 13, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080410085107/http://www.la84foundation.org/OlympicInformationCenter/OlympicReview/1983/ore190/ORE190za.pdf . April 10, 2008 . dead .
  8. News: Nick . Mulvenney . Chen Chengda, China's almost Olympian . Reuters . August 7, 2008 . August 13, 2008 . September 2, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080902010806/http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-Olympics/idUSPEK30776220080807?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0 . live .
  9. News: 1952: Zatopek wins gold at Helsinki . On This Day 20 July . BBC News . August 13, 2008 . July 20, 1952 . April 10, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160410050824/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/20/newsid_3538000/3538602.stm . live .
  10. Web site: Mulvenney . Nick . Li Ning, "Prince of Gymnasts" and businessman . Reuters . August 8, 2008 . February 24, 2014 . December 24, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081224223022/http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-Olympics/idUSSP4750620080808 . live .
  11. News: Zheng Qinwen rewards raucous Chinese support to grab gold in tense tennis final . 12 August 2024 . Reuters . the Guardian . 3 August 2024.
  12. Web site: Paris 2024 Swimming: All Results, As Pan Zhanle Sets World Record to Win Gold Medal in Men's 100m Freestyle . Fast . Annie . Olympics. 31 July 2024.
  13. Web site: Paris 2024 Swimming: All Results, As People's Republic of China Wins Gold in 4x100m Medley Relay . Fast . Annie . Olympics . 4 August 2024 . August 13, 2024 . August 7, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240807090555/https://olympics.com/en/news/paris-2024-swimming-china-gold-men-4x100m-medley-relay . live .
  14. Web site: Great Haul of China: Cao Yuan wins Olympic gold to give his nation an unprecedented diving sweep . Newberry . Paul . AP News . 10 August 2024 . August 13, 2024 . August 13, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240813000427/https://apnews.com/article/2024-olympics-diving-china-d3db1fed04c5952f5d82e1b45ef5dcb7 . live .
  15. Web site: Table tennis player Ma Long makes history for China at Paris Games with his sixth Olympic gold medal. Azzoni. Tales. AP News. 9 August 2024. August 13, 2024. August 13, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240813033309/https://apnews.com/article/2024-olympics-paris-games-table-tennis-china-b7aa4ca4cfea3c758402f90da4accaf7. live.
  16. Web site: Chinese speed skater Ye carries Winter Olympics flame in Canada – People's Daily Online . English.people.com.cn . February 24, 2014 . May 12, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130512051627/http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90779/90867/6879070.html . live .
  17. News: China will send 416 athletes to Rio de Janeiro next month. July 19, 2016. September 6, 2016. December 4, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171204062733/http://en.omriyadat.com/asian-athletics/china-will-send-416-athletes-to-rio-de-janeiro-next-month. dead.
  18. Web site: 2017-10-01 . China among nine countries banned from weightlifting for a year . 2024-08-06 . South China Morning Post . en.
  19. Web site: Welle (http://www.dw.com). Deutsche. Systematic doping of Chinese athletes in Olympic Games revealed by former doctor DW October 21, 2017. August 7, 2021. DW.COM. en-GB.
  20. Web site: October 23, 2017. Wada is accused of sitting on mass China doping claims for five years. August 7, 2021. the Guardian. en.
  21. Web site: China to make doping a criminal offence and warns athletes who test positive could be sent to prison. live. August 7, 2021. www.insidethegames.biz. https://web.archive.org/web/20181229161003/https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1073710/china-to-make-doping-a-criminal-offencechina-to-make-doping-a-criminal-offence-and-warns-athletes-who-test-positive-could-be-sent-to-prison . December 29, 2018 .
  22. News: October 24, 2017. WADA to investigate claims of systematic doping in China. en. Reuters. August 7, 2021.
  23. Chavez. Chris. Former doctor reveals more than 10,000 Chinese athletes were doping. August 7, 2021. Sports Illustrated. en-us.
  24. Web site: 2017-10-01 . China among nine countries banned from weightlifting for a year . 2024-08-06 . South China Morning Post . en . August 7, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240807193904/https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/2113540/china-banned-weightlifting-year-chiefs-find-incidence-doping-totally . live .
  25. Web site: Countries With The Most Stripped Olympic Medals. August 17, 2021. WorldAtlas. June 16, 2021. en-US. August 17, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210817130149/https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/countries-with-the-most-stripped-olympic-medals.html. live.
  26. News: 2010-04-29 . China 'pained' by loss of medal . 2024-08-06 . en-GB . February 8, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110208183834/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/gymnastics/8649850.stm . live .