Xiao Qin (; born January 12, 1985) is a Chinese

gymnast Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

. He specializes in the

horizontal bar The horizontal bar, also known as the high bar, is an apparatus used by male gymnasts in artistic gymnastics. It traditionally consists of a cylindrical metal (typically steel) bar that is rigidly held above and parallel to the floor by a syst ...

and

parallel bars Parallel bars are floor apparatus consisting of two wooden bars approximately long and positioned at above the floor. Parallel bars are used in artistic gymnastics and also for physical therapy and home exercise. Gymnasts may optionally wear ...

, but is best known for his work on the

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 Originally made of a metal frame with a wooden body and a leather cover, the modern pommel horse has a metal bo ...

for which he has won Olympic, world, national, East Asian Games, and World Cup titles. He joined the China national team in 1999 and is part of the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...

Competitive highlights

He has qualified for two Olympics. At the

2004 Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, Xiao Qin was one of the favorites for the Olympic title on pommel horse, but his dreams were shattered when he fell during the qualification round. He qualified for the horizontal bar event final but placed 6th. It was also a disappointing Olympics for his team favored to win gold but instead finished 5th. At the

2008 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 fr ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, he redeemed himself by winning gold on the pommel horse along with gold for his team.

References

Sohu Profile

2008 Team China Profile

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Xiao, Qin 1985 births Living people Chinese male artistic gymnasts Gymnasts at the 2004 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships Olympic gold medalists for China Olympic gymnasts for China Sportspeople from Nanjing World champion gymnasts Olympic medalists in gymnastics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Asian Games medalists in gymnastics Gymnasts at the 2006 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for China Medalists at the 2006 Asian Games Gymnasts from Jiangsu 21st-century Chinese sportsmen