Li Ning (; born March 10, 1963, in

Liuzhou Liuzhou (; , Standard Mandarin: , Liuzhou Yue dialect: International Phonetic Alphabet, iəu53 ʦəu44 is a prefecture-level city in north-central Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. The prefecture's population was 4 ...

Guangxi Guangxi,; officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam (Hà Giang Province, Hà Giang, Cao Bằn ...

) is a Chinese billionaire entrepreneur, the founder of the eponymous sportswear company Li-Ning, and retired gymnast of Zhuang ethnicity. He lives in Hong Kong.

Gymnastics career

Li Níng started training when he was eight and was selected for the national team in 1980. In 1982, he won six of the seven medals awarded at the Sixth World Cup Gymnastic Competition, earning him the title "Prince of Gymnastics" (). Li Níng is most famous for winning six medals at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

, the first Olympics in which the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

participated. He won three gold medals (in floor exercise,

pommel horse The pommel horse, also known as vaulting horse, is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. Traditionally, it is used by only male gymnasts. Originally made of a metal frame with a wooden body and a leather cover, the modern pommel horse has a metal bo ...

, and rings), two silver medals, and one bronze medal. Li became the most decorated Chinese athlete at the first Olympics that China participated in after the founding of the People's Republic in October 1949. Li Níng won 11

World Artistic Gymnastics Championships The Artistic Gymnastics World Championships are the world championships for artistic gymnastics governed by the International Gymnastics Federation, Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG). The first edition of the championships was held ...

medals, including gold medals in the rings (1985) and team all-around (1983). Li Níng took part in his second Olympics at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

in Seoul, despite carrying injuries. It ended an illustrious gymnastic career, as he was off-form.

Post-gymnastics

Li retired from sporting competition in 1988, and in 1990 he founded Li-Ning Company Limited, which sells footwear and sporting apparel in China. Li remains chairman of the company's board of directors. According to Hurun Report's China Rich List 2014, he has an estimated fortune of RMB 5 billion, making him the 407th wealthiest person in China. Li was inducted into the

International Gymnastics Hall of Fame The International Gymnastics Hall of Fame, located in Oklahoma City, USA, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring the achievements and contributions of the world's greatest competitors, coaches and authorities in artistic gymnastics. The early IG ...

in 2000, becoming the first Chinese inductee. In 2017, a statue was erected in his honor on the shores of Lake Geneva in Montreux. At the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

, Li Ning ignited the

cauldron A cauldron (or caldron) is a large cookware and bakeware, pot (kettle) for cooking or boiling over an open fire, with a lid and frequently with an arc-shaped hanger and/or integral handles or feet. There is a rich history of cauldron lore in r ...

at the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event.

after being hoisted high into the air with cables and miming running around the stadium's rim.

Personal life

Li is married to Chen Yongyan, a fellow gymnast who won an Olympic bronze in 1984.

References

External links

*
List of competitive results at Gymn Forum

60 Years of Asian Heroes, By Hannah Beech, ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'', 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Ning 1963 births Living people Asian Games gold medalists for China Asian Games medalists in gymnastics Asian Games silver medalists for China Chinese male artistic gymnasts Businesspeople from Guangxi Gymnasts at the 1982 Asian Games Gymnasts at the 1984 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 1986 Asian Games Gymnasts at the 1988 Summer Olympics Gymnasts from Guangxi Medalists at the 1982 Asian Games Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1986 Asian Games Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships Olympic cauldron lighters Olympic gold medalists for China Olympic gymnasts for China Olympic bronze medalists for China Olympic silver medalists for China Olympic medalists in gymnastics Peking University alumni People from Liuzhou FISU World University Games gold medalists for China Summer World University Games medalists in gymnastics World champion gymnasts Zhuang people Medalists at the 1981 Summer Universiade 20th-century Chinese sportsmen

Gymnastics career

Post-gymnastics

Personal life

See also

References

External links