Taking center stage: 10 moments that defined China’s Olympic history
Oct 25, 1979
China resumed its membership of the International Olympic Committee at a meeting in Nagoya, Japan, ending a decades-long standoff with the organization due to political reasons, and opening doors for the country to join the international sports community.
July 29, 1984
Xu Haifeng claimed the men’s 50m free pistol title in Los Angeles to become the first Chinese to win an Olympic gold medal. The country finished those 1984 Games with 15 gold, eight silver and nine bronze medals in its long-awaited comeback to the Summer Olympics.
Feb 16, 2002
Short-track speed skater Yang Yang won the women’s 500m title in Salt Lake City, Utah to claim China’s first Winter Olympics gold medal. The milestone, which came 22 years after the country’s Winter Games debut, began a new era for China as a major power in the sport.
Aug 27, 2004
The legendary Liu Xiang won the 110m hurdles in an Olympic-record time of 12.91 seconds to deliver China’s first Olympic gold in men’s sprint events. The triumph emphatically disproved the theory that Asian-born athletes could not compete at the highest level in the sprint events.
May 8, 2008
Chinese mountaineers lit the 2008 Olympic torch at the peak of Mount Qomolangma as part of the torch relay for the Beijing Games. Chanting “Beijing welcomes you!” in Chinese, English and Tibetan, they sent a message of friendship from the highest point on Earth.
Aug 8, 2008
A grand opening ceremony held at the iconic Bird’s Nest put China in the global spotlight before the country grabbed its chance to shine by bagging 48 gold medals to top the Games’ medal table. The impeccably organized Games also showcased China’s huge social and economic development after decades of reform and opening-up.
Aug 5, 2012
China’s Lin “Super” Dan became the first man to retain the Olympic badminton singles title, beating longtime archrival Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia 2-1 in a gripping, hard-fought final in London widely considered one of the greatest contests in the sport’s history.
July 31, 2015
The International Olympic Committee chose Beijing as the host of the 2022 Winter Olympics at its 128th Session in Kuala Lumpur, making the Chinese capital the world’s first city to stage both editions of the Games in a decision that would trigger a winter sports boom in China.
Aug 21, 2016
Beating Serbia in the final, the Chinese women’s volleyball team won its third Olympic gold at the 2016 Rio Games. With their never-say-die spirit, captain Zhu Ting and her teammates inspired the nation and revived memories of China’s all-conquering spikers from the 1980s.
Feb 4, 2021
Beijing celebrated the one-year countdown to the 2022 Winter Olympics by unveiling the official torch design for the Games. Inspired by President Xi Jinping’s inspection visits and ardent interest in the preparations for Beijing 2022, organizers pledged to stage streamlined, safe and splendid Games despite the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic.