Li Ning

  • China

By the finish of the 1984 Games, he had won five medals — team silver, all-around bronze, and three gold medals on floor exercise, pommel horse and rings.

Even today, Li Ning remains one of the sport’s most admired competitors. His originality, quickness, strength and explosive power is legendary.

He was born in Laibin, Guangxi, China, on March 10, 1963. And when Li Ning exploded onto the international scene, his power and dynamic routines literally blew the competition away. The ease in which he completed complicated moves was remarkable. 

At the 1983 World Championships in Budapest, Li Ning and his Chinese team won the gold medal in a dramatic battle with the former Soviet Union. 

Then, on the world’s largest sporting stage, the Olympics in 1984, Li Ning led his team to the silver medal. He earned the bronze in the all-around, but it was in the individual event finals where he dazzled the crowd, and the judges, with his effortless power.

By the finish of the 1984 Games, he had won five medals — team silver, all-around bronze, and three gold medals on floor exercise, pommel horse and rings. 

In four World Championships, from 1981 to 1987, he won two golds, five silver and four bronze medals. 

Even today, Li Ning remains one of the sport’s most admired competitors. His originality, quickness, strength and explosive power is legendary. 

1984 OLYMPIC GAMES

  • Gold Medalist & Olympic Champion:
    • Floor Exercise
    • Pommel Horse (tie)
  • Silver Medalist:
    • Still Rings
    • Vault
  • Bronze Medalist:
    • All-Around

1983 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

  • Silver Medalist:
    • Vaulting
  • Bronze Medalist:
    • Floor Exercise
    • Still Rings

1985 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

  • Gold Medalist & Olympic Champion:
    • Still Rings
  • Silver Medalist:
    • Pommel Horse
  • Bronze Medalist:
    • Floor Exercise

1987 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

  • Silver Medalist:
    • Still Rings (tie)

2000 INTERNATIONAL GYMNASTICS HALL OF FAME

  • Inducted as a member of the Class of 2000