China At The Olympics
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China's participation in the Olympic games is relatively recent. Largely due to the
Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...
and the
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...
’s recognition of the Republic of China, The People's Republic of China did not participate in the Olympics for over 20 years; recognition of the Chinese Olympic Committee—or CHN—did not happen until 1979.
The People's Republic of China ''The'' is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the ...
sent its first full athletic delegation to the
Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The 1896 Summer Olympics, inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, ...
in 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 ...
which was held in Los Angeles, United States.23rd Olympic Games: Los Angeles 1984
Chinese Olympic Committee The Chinese Olympic Committee (COC; ; List of IOC country codes, IOC code: CHN) is the National Olympic Committee of China. It is headquartered in Dongcheng, Beijing, Dongcheng, Beijing, China. Leaders Timeline concerning Olympic recogni ...
.
As of 2024, China has finished at 1st place in the Summer Olympics once, at 2nd place four times, and 3rd place twice. It has won a total of 325 gold medals, 258 silver medals and 221 bronze medals over the course of 12 Olympic games. 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
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
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region, making them the 3rd most successful country in Olympic history, after the United States and the Soviet Union.


Participation

Originally having participated in Olympics as the delegation of the
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
(ROC) from 1924 to
1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...
, China competed at the
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...
under the name of 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 ...
(PRC) for the first time at the 1952 Summer Olympics held in
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,
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, although they only arrived in time during the last days to participate in one event.10th–15th Olympic Games: 1936–1952
Chinese Olympic Committee The Chinese Olympic Committee (COC; ; List of IOC country codes, IOC code: CHN) is the National Olympic Committee of China. It is headquartered in Dongcheng, Beijing, Dongcheng, Beijing, China. Leaders Timeline concerning Olympic recogni ...
.
That year, the
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...
(IOC) allowed both the PRC and ROC (Republic of China) (which fled to Taiwan after the
Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...
) 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 The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. Their first appearance at the
Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The 1896 Summer Olympics, inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, ...
after 1952 was 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 ...
in Los Angeles, United States.


Designation Issues - PRC versus ROC and classification of Hong Kong

The
Chinese Olympic Committee The Chinese Olympic Committee (COC; ; List of IOC country codes, IOC code: CHN) is the National Olympic Committee of China. It is headquartered in Dongcheng, Beijing, Dongcheng, Beijing, China. Leaders Timeline concerning Olympic recogni ...
in its current form was recognized in 1979. Before the
Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...
, 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 International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...
approved the Nagoya Resolution in which 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 Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
has had a distinct
National Olympic Committee A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games ...
since 1950 and has competed at the Games since 1952.SF&OC History
Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China
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 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 ...
is the first city to have hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympics.


2008 Summer Olympics

Following economic reforms under Deng Xiaoping and financial support from Japan’s Official Development Assistance branch as a result of Japan’s post WW2 reparation plans, China underwent rapid economic growth. As a result, China successfully bid in 2001 to host the 2008 Olympic Games, signaling the CHN's debut as an Olympic host. In order to host the 2008 Olympics Games, significant investment—particularly from the Government of China—was necessary. With contributions from both the public and private sectors, the central government allocated an estimated ¥313 billion CNY ($6.8 billion USD) to the Games. Associated expenses of hosting, such as infrastructure and developmental costs brought the total investment to around ¥313 billion CNY (roughly $43 billion USD), making it the biggest investment in an Olympics game yet. The event alone generated a profit of over ¥1 billion CNY. The 2008 Olympic Games helped China reshape its international image by utilizing the country’s rich historical culture to divert attention from its past. The Olympics Fuwa mascots were designed to be deeply embedded in Chinese culture, with each ring associated with an aspect of Chinese heritage. Not only was the event able to bring a wider range of China’s culture to a global audience, China’s decision to represent one of the mascots, namely Yingying, as a Tibetan antelope was an attempt to legitimize its annexation of Tibet through symbolic entrenchment—a diplomatic practice used to justify the CCP's regional occupation through military incursion in 1951. Such extensive state involvement indicated the state's goal as presenting China as an emerging global power. Preparation for the Games created millions of jobs for the domestic economy and bolstered nationalism significantly, while successfully hosting the event boosted tourism and increased foreign investments and confidence. Consequently, the country saw a GDP growth of 9.7% in the next year despite the effects of the
2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
.


Hosted Games


Unsuccessful bids


Overview of Olympic participation


Timeline of participation


China at the Summer Olympics


China at the Winter Olympics


Medals by sports


Medals by summer sport

Chinese athletes have won medals in most of the current Summer Olympics sports.
The exceptions are
triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the ...
, equestrian, rugby,
skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport that involves riding and Skateboarding trick, performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a method of tr ...
, surfing and
water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...
.


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:


Flagbearer


Summer Games


Winter Games


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 The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...
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, 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. 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. This marked the beginning of the "two Chinas" conflict in the Olympic Movement, which resulted in the
Chinese Olympic Committee The Chinese Olympic Committee (COC; ; List of IOC country codes, IOC code: CHN) is the National Olympic Committee of China. It is headquartered in Dongcheng, Beijing, Dongcheng, Beijing, China. Leaders Timeline concerning Olympic recogni ...
'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 The Chinese Olympic Committee (COC; ; List of IOC country codes, IOC code: CHN) is the National Olympic Committee of China. It is headquartered in Dongcheng, Beijing, Dongcheng, Beijing, China. Leaders Timeline concerning Olympic recogni ...
's return to the IOC on October 25, 1979.


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 Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...
, 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 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 ...
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. 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 The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...
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 The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...
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 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 ...
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 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 ...
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 The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
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 The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...
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 The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...
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 The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...
in Paris, France in August 2024, their best result after 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 ...
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. 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. 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. 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. 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.


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 4th 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 Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...
, 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.


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.


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. :
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. :
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


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.


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.


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.


Most appearances

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


The youngest and oldest gold medalists


Milestones


Summer Games

*1st medal : Xu Haifeng, Shooting, 1984 *1st gold medal : Xu Haifeng, Shooting, 1984 *10th gold medal : Li Ning, Gymnastics, 1984 *50th gold medal : Deng Yaping, Table tennis, 1996 *100th gold medal : Zhang Yining, Table tennis, 2004 *200th gold medal : Chen Ruolin, Diving, 2012 *300th gold medal : Chen Meng, Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu, Table tennis, 2024


Winter Games

*1st medal: Ye Qiaobo, Speed skating, 1992 *1st gold medal : Yang Yang (A), Short track speed skating, 2002 *10th gold medal : Li Jianrou, Short track speed skating, 2014


Hosting Olympic logo and mottos


2008 Summer Olympics

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 ...
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 Olympics marks the second time China hosted the Olympics, but it was held in
Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...
. 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

At the Olympics, China has been stripped of a total of 3 Olympic medals due to doping; the three were weightlifters Lei Cao, Xiexia Chen, and Chunhong Liu, who were caught doping at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. A former Chinese doctor named Xue Yinxian has claimed the occurrence of alleged systematic doping of Chinese athletes in the
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...
(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 The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...
and World Anti-Doping Agency investigated these allegations with no conclusions or actions taken.


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.


Upgraded medalists


See also

* :Olympic competitors for China * List of Olympic medalists for China * China at the Asian Games * China at the Paralympics * Sport in China * Chinese Olympic politics * Sports and Olympic Committee of Macau, China


Notes


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:China At The Olympics