Li Ning: Wikis

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Updated live from Wikipedia, last check: June 02, 2012 17:53 UTC (39 seconds ago)

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This article is about the contemporary gymnast. For the company he founded, see Li Ning Company Limited. For the Tang Dynasty prince, see Li Ning (Tang Dynasty).

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

Li Ning

Personal information
Full name:	Li Ning
Country Represented:	China
Date of birth:	September 8, 1963 (1963-09-08) (age 46)
Place of birth:	Liuzhou, Guangxi
Discipline:	Men's artistic gymnastics
Retired:	1988

Medal record
Men's Artistic Gymnastics
Gold	1984 Los Angeles	Floor
Gold	1984 Los Angeles	Pommel Horse
Gold	1984 Los Angeles	Rings
Silver	1984 Los Angeles	Team
Silver	1984 Los Angeles	Vault
Bronze	1984 Los Angeles	All-Around

Li Ning (Simplified Chinese: 李宁; Traditional Chinese: 李寧; Pinyin: Lǐ Níng; born September 8, 1963 in Liuzhou, Guangxi) is a well-known Chinese gymnast and entrepreneur. He was born in a Zhuang family.

Career

Li is most famous for winning 6 medals at the 1984 Summer Olympics, including 3 gold medals (in floor exercise, pommel horse, and rings), 2 silver medals, and a bronze medal. In 1982, he won six of the seven medals awarded at the Sixth World Cup Gymnastic Competition, earning him the title "Prince of gymnastics" (體操王子).

Li retired from sporting competition in 1988, and in 1990 he founded the Li-Ning Company Limited, which sells footwear and sporting apparel in China. Li remains chairman of the company's board of directors.

Li was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2000, becoming the first Chinese inductee.^[1]

At the 2008 Summer Olympics Li Ning ignited the cauldron at the opening ceremony after being hoisted high into the air with cables and miming running around the high portion of the stadium.^[2]^[3]^[4]

References

^ "LI NING". International Gymnastics Hall of Fame. http://www.ighof.com/honorees/honorees_ning.html. Retrieved May 12, 2007.
^ "Games begin with spectacular show". BBC.co.uk. 2008-08-08. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics/7547074.stm. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
^ "Li Flies High at Opening Ceremonies". International Gymnast. 2008-08-08. http://www.intlgymnast.com/olympics/536.html. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
^ http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121964720621268641.html

External links

Biography - Li-Ning Company Limited
List of competitive results at Gymn Forum
Li Ning: China's legendary gymnast has combined sporting agility with commercial muscle, 60 Years of Asian Heroes, By Hannah Beech, Time, 2006

Gymnastics portal

Final Olympic torchbearers

Summer Olympics	1936: Fritz Schilgen (GER) * 1948: John Mark (GBR) * 1952: Paavo Nurmi (FIN) * 1956: Ron Clarke (AUS) & Hans Wikne (SWE) * 1960: Giancarlo Peris (ITA) * 1964: Yoshinori Sakai (JPN) * 1968: Norma Enriqueta Basilio de Sotelo (MEX) * 1972: Günther Zahn (GER) * 1976: Stéphane Préfontaine and Sandra Henderson (both CAN) * 1980: Sergei Belov (URS) * 1984: Rafer Johnson (USA) * 1988: Chung Sun-Man, Sohn Mi-Chung, & Kim Won-Tak (all KOR) * 1992: Antonio Rebollo (ESP) * 1996: Muhammad Ali (USA) * 2000: Cathy Freeman (AUS) * 2004: Nikolaos Kaklamanakis (GRE) * 2008: Li Ning (CHN)

Winter Olympics	1952: Eigil Nansen (NOR) * 1956: Guido Caroli (ITA) * 1960: Ken Henry (USA) * 1964: Josef Rieder (AUT) * 1968: Alain Calmat (FRA) * 1972: Hideo Takada (JPN) * 1976: Christl Haas & Josef Feistmantl (both AUT) * 1980: Charles Morgan Kerr (USA) * 1984: Sanda Dubravčić (YUG) * 1988: Robyn Perry (CAN) * 1992: Michel Platini & François-Cyrille Grange (both FRA) * 1994: Crown Prince Haakon (NOR) * 1998: Midori Ito (JPN) * 2002: 1980 US Olympic hockey team (USA) * 2006: Stefania Belmondo (ITA)