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China at the Olympics

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Template:Infobox Olympics China The People's Republic of China (PRC) first competed at the Olympic Games in 1952, at the Summer Games in Helsinki, although they only arrived in time to participate in one event.[1] That year, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed both the PRC and the Republic of China (which recently relocated to Taiwan after the Chinese Civil War) to compete, although the latter withdrew in protest.[1] Due to the dispute over the political status of China, the PRC did not participate in the Olympics again until the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid.[1] Their first appearance at the Summer Olympic Games after 1952 was the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.[2]

The Chinese Olympic Committee in its current form was recognized in 1979.[1] Before the Chinese Civil War, athletes competed as the Republic of China (ROC) at the Olympics. The ROC continued to compete from 1952 to 1976 (Winter), but only representing athletes from the island of Taiwan (although the football team members of ROC in the 1960 Olympic Games were overwhelmingly 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 passed a resolution for the ROC team to be designated Chinese Taipei, and this opened the door for the PRC to finally join the Olympic movement.[1]

Hong Kong has had a distinct National Olympic Committee since 1950 and has competed at the Games since 1952.[3] 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.[3]

History

The People's Republic of China (PRC) sent a delegation to the Olympic Games 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,[4] 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.[5] The Chinese stayed 10 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.[6] This marked the beginning of the "two Chinas" conflict in the Olympic Movement, which resulted in the Chinese Olympic Committee's withdrawal from the IOC in August 1958. The issue was resolved in November 1979, and the People's Republic of China participated in the 1980 Winter Olympics—their first appearance since the 1952 Games.[4]

The first gold medal to be awarded at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles was also the first-ever gold medal to be won by an athlete from China (both ROC and PRC) when Xu Haifeng won the 50 m Pistol event. It was called "a break through zero" - an event that brought great joy to the whole Chinese nation.[7] Li Ning won also 6 medals in gymnastics, 3 gold, 2 silver, and 1 bronze, earning him the nickname "Prince of Gymnasts" in China.[8] In its first full participation at the Summer Olympic Games, China earned 15 gold, 8 silver and 9 bronze medals and placed fourth in medal standing.

At the 2004 Olympics, China took home 63 medals, 36 of them (57.1 percent of the total) being won by young athletes; 10 of the gold medal winners were under 20 years old. Chinese athletes made outstanding achievements in tennis, canoeing and track and field. Hurdling star Liu Xiang became the first Chinese man to win gold in an Olympic track event, finishing first in the 110-meter hurdles and equaling the world record of 12.91 seconds. In canoeing Meng Guanliang and Yang Wenjun won the men's C2 500 final, China's first Olympic gold in aquatic sports. Sun Tiantian and Li Ting won the women's tennis doubles final, China's first ever tennis gold.

Medal tables

See also: All-time Olympic Games medal table

Medals by Summer Games

Rank
1952 Helsinki 0 0 0 0 -
1984 Los Angeles 15 8 9 32 4
1988 Seoul 5 11 12 28 11
1992 Barcelona 16 22 16 54 4
1996 Atlanta 16 22 12 50 4
2000 Sydney 28 16 14 58 3
2004 Athens 32 17 14 63 2
2008 Beijing (host) 51 21 28 100 1
Total 163 117 105 385

Medals by Winter Games

Rank
1980 Lake Placid 0 0 0 0 -
1984 Sarajevo 0 0 0 0 -
1988 Calgary 0 0 0 0 -
1992 Albertville 0 3 0 3 15
1994 Lillehammer 0 1 2 3 19
1998 Nagano 0 6 2 8 16
2002 Salt Lake City 2 2 4 8 13
2006 Turin 2 4 5 11 14
2010 Vancouver 5 2 4 11 7
Total 9 18 17 44

Medals by summer sport

     Leading in that sport

Rank
Diving 27 14 8 49 2
Gymnastics[9] 24 16 16 56 5
Weightlifting 24 11 8 43 2
Table tennis 20 13 8 41 1
Shooting 19 11 12 42 2
Badminton 11 6 13 30 1
Judo 8 2 8 18 4
Swimming 7 15 5 27 11
Athletics 5 3 7 15 31
Taekwondo 4 0 1 5 2
Fencing 2 6 1 9 13
Volleyball[10] 2 2 3 7 6
Wrestling 2 2 3 7 19
Boxing 2 1 2 5 25
Canoeing 2 0 0 2 26
Archery 1 5 1 7 6
Rowing 1 3 2 6 23
Sailing 1 2 1 4 23
Tennis 1 0 1 2 12
Cycling 0 1 2 3 30
Basketball 0 1 1 2 6
Field hockey 0 1 0 1 13
Football 0 1 0 1 22
Softball 0 1 0 1 4
Handball 0 0 1 1 19
Synchronized swimming 0 0 1 1 6
Total 163 117 105 385

Medals by winter sport

Rank
Short track speed skating 7 10 7 24 3
Freestyle skiing 1 3 2 6 6
Figure skating 1 2 4 7 13
Speed skating 0 3 3 6 18
Curling 0 0 1 1 8
Total 9 18 17 44

Milestones

Summer Games

Winter Games

Flagbearer

Summer Games

Games Athlete Sport
1984 Los Angeles Wang Libin Basketball
1988 Seoul Song Tao Basketball
1992 Barcelona Song Ligang Basketball
1996 Atlanta Liu Yudong Basketball
2000 Sydney Liu Yudong Basketball
2004 Athens Yao Ming Basketball
2008 Beijing Yao Ming Basketball

[1]

Winter Games

Games Athlete Sport
1980 Lake Placid Zhao Weichang Speed skating
1984 Sarajevo Zhao Jian Speed skating
1988 Calgary Zhang Shubin Figure skating
1992 Albertville Song Chen Speed skating
1994 Lillehammer Liu Yanfei Speed skating
1998 Nagano Zhao Hongbo Figure skating
2002 Salt Lake City Zhang Min Figure skating
2006 Turin Yang Yang (A) Short track
2010 Vancouver Han Xiaopeng Freestyle skiing

See also

References

General
  • "Olympic Medal Winners". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2006-12-09.
  • "Chinese Olympic Committee". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
Specific
  1. ^ a b c d e 10th-15th Olympic Games: 1936-1952 Chinese Olympic Committee.
  2. ^ 23rd Olympic Games: Los Angeles 1984 Chinese Olympic Committee.
  3. ^ a b SF&OC History Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China.
  4. ^ a b (ed.) Monique Berlioux (1983). "China and Olympism" (PDF). Olympic Review (190–191). International Olympic Committee: pp. 583–592. Retrieved 2008-08-13. {{cite journal}}: |author= has generic name (help); |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  5. ^ Mulvenney, Nick (2008-08-07). "Chen Chengda, China's almost Olympian". Reuters. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
  6. ^ "1952: Zatopek wins gold at Helsinki". On This Day 20 July. BBC News. 1952-07-20. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
  7. ^ http://en.olympic.cn/games/summer/2004-03-27/121671.html 23rd Olympic Games: Los Angeles 1984 Chinese Olympic Committee.
  8. ^ Reuters - Li Ning, "Prince of Gymnasts" and businessman - 8 Aug 2008
  9. ^ including artistic, rhythmic and trampoline
  10. ^ including indoor and beach
  11. ^ http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90779/90867/6879070.html
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