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Le Jingyi

Personal information
Full name	乐靖宜
Nationality	China
Stroke(s)	Freestyle
Date of birth	March 19, 1975 (1975-03-19) (age 34)
Place of birth	Shanghai
Height	178 cm
Weight	68 kg
Medal record Women's swimming Competitor for  China Olympic Games Gold 1996 Atlanta 100 m freestyle Silver 1996 Atlanta 50 m freestyle Silver 1992 Barcelona 4×100 m freestyle Silver 1996 Atlanta 4×100 m medley World Championships (LC) Gold 1994 Rome 50 m freestyle Gold 1994 Rome 100 m freestyle Gold 1994 Rome 4x100 m freestyle relay World Championships (SC) Gold 1993 Palma 50 m freestyle Gold 1993 Palma 100 m freestyle Gold 1993 Palma 4×100 m freestyle Gold 1993 Palma 4×200 m freestyle Gold 1993 Palma 4×100 m medley Gold 1995 Rio 50 m freestyle Gold 1995 Rio 100 m freestyle Gold 1995 Rio 4×100 m freestyle Gold 1997 Gothenburg 4×100 m freestyle Gold 1997 Gothenburg 4×100 m medley Bronze 1997 Gothenburg 50 m freestyle Bronze 1997 Gothenburg 100 m freestyle Summer Universiade Gold 1993 Buffalo 50 m freestyle Gold 1993 Buffalo 100 m freestyle Pan Pacific Championships Gold 1997 Fukuoka 50 m freestyle Silver 1997 Fukuoka 100 m freestyle Silver 1997 Fukuoka 200 m freestyle

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Le.

Le Jingyi (simplified Chinese: 乐靖宜; traditional Chinese: 樂靖宜; pinyin: Lè Jìngyí; born March 19, 1975 in Shanghai) is a former swimmer from China who won the gold medal in the 100 metres freestyle at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.

In 1992, Le won the silver medal in the 4x100 metres freestyle relay (3:40.12) at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, and also finished 6th in the 100 m free (55.89). In 1993 she defeated her teammate, Olympic champion Zhuang Yong, to become national champion in the 100 m free (54.72, 2nd globally after Franziska van Almsick). In December 1993, she won 4 golds, all in world record times, at the 1st ever World Short Course Championships in Spain (50 m free: 24.23; 100 m free: 53.01; 4×100 m free relay: 3:35.97 and 4×100 m medlay reply: 3:57.73).

Le stunned the swimming world in 1994 when she won the title in the 100 metres freestyle at the 1994 World Aquatics Championships in Rome, setting the then-world record with a time of 54.01 seconds. She also set a world record in the 50 metres freestyle (24.51) and anchored two world record-setting relays. She also won 3 golds in the 1995 Short Course Worlds in Brazil.

At the Atlanta Olympics, she won the 100 m free (54.50) and won silver medals in the 4×100 metres freestyle relay (3:40.48) and the 50 metres freestyle (24.90).

Le continued to compete in 1997, winning the 50 m free (25.24) and taking silver in the 100 (54.86) and 200 (2:00.54) at the Pan Pacific Championships. At the 1997 Chinese National Games, she was upset by Shan Ying in the 50 (24.71 to 24.88), though she took gold in the 100 (54.10, 2nd fastest all-time).

Le competed at the 1998 World Championships in Perth but only swam in relays. Surprisingly, She recorded the slowest split (57.59) among all 32 swimmers in the 4×100 m free relay final, where the Chinese team placed 8th.

In 2000, Le made an attempt to qualify for her third Olympics but was obviously off-form to make the team.

While Le had been Olympic champion and world champion many times, she had never won a single medal (of any colour) at the Asian Games. She competed in the 1994 Games in Hiroshima, entering the 50 m free and 4×100 m free relay. In the 50 free, she set a Games record (25.26) in the heats but was disqualified in the final for a false start. In the 4×100 m free relay, the Chinese team won (Le swam the 2nd leg and split 54.14) but was subsequently stripped of their gold when Lu Bin failed a doping test.

She was the face of the rising power of Chinese swimming in the mid-1990s. Due to her muscular build, she was one of many Chinese swimmers suspected of using steroids during the 1990s. Though several others were later found guilty of doping, she never tested positive for any illegal substances.

See also

• World record progression 50 metres freestyle

External links

• Profile from official 2008 Summer Olympics Website
• Damming of Champions, SI.com, July 22, 1996

Awards
Preceded by Wang Junxia	United Press International Athlete of the Year 1994	Succeeded by Gwen Torrence
Preceded by Susie O'Neill	World Pacific Rim Swimmer of the Year 1996	Succeeded by Samantha Riley