Yanhao "Dwayne" Li (; born 12 August 2008) is a New Zealand figure skater. He is the 2024 Youth Olympic bronze medalist, 2023 Junior Grand Prix Thailand bronze medalist, and 2024 Cranberry Cup International Junior Champion. He is the first New Zealand figure skater to qualify or medal at any

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

event and to win a ISU Junior Grand Prix medal. He has also medalled at other international competitions, including gold at the 2023 Hollins Trophy and 2023 Oceania International, and silver medals at the 2023 Asian Open and 2022 SEA Open Trophy.

Personal life

Li was born on August 12, 2008 in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, China. At the age of eight, he and his family moved to New Zealand, settling in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. As of 2023, Li studies at

Macleans College Macleans College is a co-educational state secondary school located in Eastern Beach, Auckland, New Zealand. The school is named after the Scottish MacLean family who lived and farmed the land of the school and surrounding reserves, and the sc ...

Career

Early years

Li began skating as a four-year-old in China, to escape the summer heat. After arriving in New Zealand at age eight, he joined the Allegro Ice Dance Club and Bess Cao became his coach. He trains at Paradice ice rinks in

Botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

and Avondale. Commenting on the sport, he said, "I love the feeling of weightlessness when I'm jumping on ice. I really enjoy the rush of wind when picking up speed."

2022–23 season

Li made his international debut in the SEA Open trophy in Singapore, where he finished second. He then made his ISU Junior Grand Prix debut at 2022 JGP Latvia, where he finished sixteenth. He went on to compete on the junior level at the 2022–23 New Zealand Championships, winning the gold medal. Selected to compete at the 2023 World Junior Championships in Calgary, Alberta, Li placed twenty-sixth in the short program and did not advance to the free skate segment of the competition.

2023–24 season

Li began the season by competing on the junior level of the 2023 Asian Open Trophy, taking the silver medal. Competing on the 2023–24 Junior Grand Prix series, Li took the bronze medal at the 2023 JGP Thailand with a score of 210.08, beating his previous personal best total score by almost sixty points. This was the first ever Junior Grand Prix medal won for New Zealand. He later finished in fifth place at 2023 JGP Japan three weeks later. At the 2023–24 New Zealand Championships, Li won the junior national title for the second consecutive time. In January 2024, Li competed in the men's singles event at the Winter Youth Olympics in Gangneung, South Korea. He placed fourth in the short program, despite suffering a nosebleed midway through the program, which he said had "happened quite a few times before in training, so I just pushed on and finished my routine. It was actually pretty funny." In the free skate, he decided to attempt a triple Axel, and landed the jump, despite a step-out on the landing. Li said afterward that it "was the first time I'd ever done a triple Axel in competition and I was really pleased to stay on my feet." Although fourth in both segments, his total score was third highest, winning the bronze medal. He made history taking New Zealand's first Olympic medal in figure skating, and was one of four New Zealand athletes to win a medal at the 2024 Youth Olympics. After his medal success, he stated: "I was really proud of myself for being here and performing in front of such a big crowd." Li remarked as well that the "Youth Olympic Games used to be a dream. Now I can say it's reality. This is very special to me." Li finished the season at the 2024 World Junior Championships in

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...

, where he came twelfth.

Programs

Competitive highlights

''GP:

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

; JGP:

Junior Grand Prix The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating (titled the ISU Junior Series in the 1997–98 season) is a series of international junior-level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men ...

Detailed results

''Personal best highlighted in'' bold.

Junior level

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Dwayne 2008 births Living people New Zealand figure skaters Sportspeople from Auckland Figure skaters from Beijing Chinese emigrants to New Zealand Figure skaters at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics Youth Olympic bronze medalists People educated at Macleans College