The People's Republic of China, the previous host of the 2008 Olympics at Beijing, competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, the United Kingdom, between 27 July and 12 August 2012. This was the nation's ninth appearance at the Summer Olympics since its debut in 1952. A total of 396 Chinese athletes, 171 men and 225 women, were selected by the Chinese Olympic Committee to compete in 23 sports. For the fourth time in its Olympic history, China was represented by more female than male athletes.
China left London with a total of 88 medals – 38 gold, 27 silver, and 23 bronze – finishing second only to the United States in the global medal standings. The Chinese delegation proved particularly successful in several sports, winning twelve medals in gymnastics, ten in diving and swimming, eight in badminton, seven in weightlifting and shooting, and six in table tennis. Chinese athletes dominated in badminton and table tennis, where they won all the available gold medals. Eleven Chinese athletes managed to defend their titles from the 2008 Olympics, hosted by China; 18 Chinese athletes won more than one Olympic medal in London. China also won its first ever Olympic medal in modern pentathlon.
Among the nation's medalists were Sun Yang and Ye Shiwen, who were the first Chinese swimmers to win two gold medals in their events; Sun and Ye broke a world record and an Olympic record, respectively. Sun also dominated the nation's Olympic medal standings, winning four medals. Gymnast Zou Kai, who won two golds and one bronze in London, became the most successful Chinese athlete in history with a total of six Olympic medals. Springboard diver Wu Minxia became the first Chinese athlete to win a gold medal in a single event at three consecutive Olympic Games. Meanwhile, Chen Ruolin became the second diver in Chinese history to defend two Olympic titles at a single games, after Guo Jingjing did so in two springboard events in 2008.
In the years after the Olympics, Russian track and field athlete Darya Pishchalnikova was disqualified for doping, therefore bronze medalist Li Yanfeng was upgraded to silver. Fellow Russian Sergey Kirdyapkin was also disqualified for doping in the 50 kilometres walk, so bronze medalist Si Tianfeng was promoted to silver; Russian athletes Elena Lashmanova and Olga Kaniskina were also disqualified, and Qieyang Shenjie and Liu Hong were promoted to gold and silver at the 20 kilometres walk, respectively, sixth placer Lü Xiuzhi was also promoted to bronze. Another Russian, silver medalist in the shot put, Yevgeniya Kolodko, was also found guilty for doping, soGong Lijao was promoted to silver and Li Ling to bronze, and Zhang Wenxiu was also promoted to bronze after the original winner in the hammer throw, Tatyana Lysenko was also disqualified.
Medalists
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By chronological order Medal Name Sport Event Date Yi Siling Shooting Women's 10 m air rifle Wang Mingjuan Weightlifting Women's 48 kg Ye Shiwen Swimming Women's 400 m individual medley Sun Yang Swimming Men's 400 m freestyle Guo Wenjun Shooting Women's 10 m air pistol He ZiWu Minxia Diving Women's synchronized 3 m springboard Cao YuanZhang Yanquan Diving Men's synchronized 10 m platform Li Xueying Weightlifting Women's 58 kg Chen YibingFeng ZheGuo WeiyangZhang ChenglongZou Kai Gymnastics Men's artistic team all-around Chen RuolinWang Hao Diving Women's synchronized 10 m platform Lei Sheng Fencing Men's individual foil Ye Shiwen Swimming Women's 200 m individual medley Lin Qingfeng Weightlifting Men's 69 kg Luo YutongQin Kai Diving Men's synchronized 3 m springboard Li Xiaoxia Table tennis Women's singles Lü Xiaojun Weightlifting Men's 77 kg Jiao Liuyang Swimming Women's 200 m butterfly Zhang Jike Table tennis Men's singles Dong Dong Gymnastics Men's trampoline Zhang NanZhao Yunlei Badminton Mixed doubles Li Xuerui Badminton Women's singles Tian QingZhao Yunlei Badminton Women's doubles Chen Ding Athletics Men's 20 km walk Sun Yang Swimming Men's 1500 m freestyle Li NaLuo XiaojuanSun YujieXu Anqi Fencing Women's team épée Lin Dan Badminton Men's singles Zou Kai Gymnastics Men's floor Cai YunFu Haifeng Badminton Men's doubles Zhou Lulu Weightlifting Women's +75 kg Wu Minxia Diving Women's 3 m springboard Xu Lijia Sailing Women's Laser Radial class Feng Zhe Gymnastics Men's parallel bars Deng Linlin Gymnastics Women's balance beam Ding Ning Guo Yue Li Xiaoxia Table tennis Women's team Wang HaoZhang JikeMa Long Table tennis Men's team Wu Jingyu Taekwondo Women's 49 kg Chen Ruolin Diving Women's 10 m platform Qieyang Shijie Athletics Women's 20 km walk Zou Shiming Boxing Men's light flyweight Wei Ning Shooting Women's skeet Fang YutingCheng MingXu Jing Archery Women's team Lu Ying Swimming Women's 100 m butterfly Wu Jingbiao Weightlifting Men's 56 kg Sun Yang Swimming Men's 200 m freestyle Xu Lili Judo Women's 63 kg Chen Ying Shooting Women's 25 m pistol Ding Ning Table tennis Women's singles Lu Haojie Weightlifting Men's 77 kg Gong JinjieGuo Shuang Cycling Women's team sprint Wang Hao Table tennis Men's singles Xu ChenMa Jin Badminton Mixed doubles Guo Shuang Cycling Women's keirin Huang WenyiXu Dongxiang Rowing Women's lightweight double sculls Wang Yihan Badminton Women's singles Huang Shanshan Gymnastics Women's trampoline Li Yanfeng Athletics Women's discus throw He Zi Diving Women's 3 m springboard Chen Yibing Gymnastics Men's rings He Kexin Gymnastics Women's uneven bars Sui Lu Gymnastics Women's balance beam Qin Kai Diving Men's 3 m springboard Jing Ruixue Wrestling Women's freestyle 63 kg Ren Cancan Boxing Women's flyweight Hou Yuzhuo Taekwondo Women's 57 kg Synchronizedswimming Women's team Si Tianfeng Athletics Men's 50 km walk Qiu Bo Diving Men's 10 m platform Cao Zhongrong Modern pentathlon Men's event Gong Lijiao Athletics Women's shot put Liu Hong Athletics Women's 20 km walk Li Xuanxu Swimming Women's 400 m individual medley Yu Dan Shooting Women's 10 m air rifle Sun Yujie Fencing Women's individual épée Hao Yun Li Yunqi Jiang Haiqi Sun Yang Lü Zhiwu Dai Jun Swimming Men's 4 × 200 m freestyle relay Tang Yi Swimming Women's 100 m freestyle Ding Feng Shooting Men's 25 m rapid fire pistol Lu Chunlong Gymnastics Men's trampoline Dai Xiaoxiang Archery Men's individual Tong Wen Judo Women's +78 kg He Wenna Gymnastics Women's trampoline Wang Zhen Athletics Men's 20 kilometres walk Chen Long Badminton Men's singles Wang Zhiwei Shooting Men's 50 m pistol Zou Kai Gymnastics Men's horizontal bar Huang Xuechen Liu Ou Synchronizedswimming Women's duet Guo Shuang Cycling Women's sprint He Chong Diving Men's 3 m springboard Li Jinzi Boxing Women's middleweight Zhang Wenxiu Athletics Women's hammer throw Liu Xiaobo Taekwondo Men's +80 kg Li Ling2 Athletics Women's shot put Lü Xiuzhi Athletics Women's 20 km walk
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Multiple medalists
Multiple medalistsNameSport TotalSun YangSwimming2114Zou KaiGymnastics2013Zhao YunleiBadminton2002Chen RuolinDiving2002Wu MinxiaDiving2002Feng ZheGymnastics2002Ye ShiwenSwimming2002Li XiaoxiaTable tennis2002Zhang JikeTable tennis2002He ZiDiving1102Qin KaiDiving1102Chen YibingGymnastics1102Ding NingTable tennis1102Wang HaoTable tennis1102Sun YujieFencing1012Guo ShuangCycling0213Huang XuechenSynchronizedswimming0112Liu OuSynchronizedswimming0112
Repeat medalists Successful defending champions are marked in bold.
Name Sport Event 00 04 08 12 Four participations Li Na Fencing Women's team épée 6 Women's épée R2 R2 4 R3 Three participations, all with medals Wu Minxia Diving Women's synchronized 3 m springboard Women's 3 m springboard Wang Hao Table tennis Men's team Men's singles Guo Yue Table tennis Women's team Women's singles Women's doubles Zou Shiming Boxing Men's light flyweight Three participations, two with medals Lin Dan Badminton Men's singles R1 Cai Yun Fu Haifeng Badminton Men's doubles QF Huang Shanshan Gymnastics Women's trampoline 14 Chen Ying Shooting Women's 25 m pistol 4 Wei Ning Shooting Women's skeet 6 Two participations, both with medals Guo Shuang Cycling Women's sprint Women's team sprint Women's keirin Chen Ruolin Diving Women's synchronized 10 m platform Women's 10 m platform Qin Kai Diving Men's synchronized 3 m springboard Men's 3 m springboard He Chong Diving Men's 3 m springboard Zou Kai Gymnastics Men's artistic team all-around Men's floor Men's horizontal bar Chen Yibing Gymnastics Men's artistic team all-around Men's rings He Kexin Gymnastics Women's artistic team all-around 4 Women's uneven bars Deng Linlin Gymnastics Women's artistic team all-around 4 Women's balance beam 9 Dong Dong Gymnastics Men's trampoline Lu Chunlong Gymnastics Men's trampoline He Wenna Gymnastics Women's trampoline Tong Wen Judo Women's +78 kg Xu Lijia Sailing Women's Laser Radial class Guo Wenjun Shooting Women's 10 m air pistol Jiao Liuyang Swimming Women's 200 m butterfly Huang Xuechen Liu Ou Synchronized swimming Women's team Women's duet Jiang Tingting Jiang Wenwen Luo Xi Synchronized swimming Women's team Wu Jingyu Taekwondo Women's 49 kg 00 04 08 12
Medal distribution
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By sport Medals by sportSport TotalDiving63110Gymnastics54312Swimming52310Badminton5218Weightlifting5207Table tennis4206Athletics24410Shooting2237Fencing2013Boxing1113Taekwondo1113Sailing1001Cycling0213Archery0112Judo0112Synchronized swimming0112Modern pentathlon0101Rowing0101Wrestling0101Total 39 31 22 92
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By date Medals by dateDayDate Total128 July4026229 July2406330 July3115431 July411651 Aug430762 Aug121473 Aug224884 Aug5421195 Aug5128106 Aug1315117 Aug3339128 Aug2114139 Aug12031410 Aug01121511 Aug23371612 Aug0000Total 39 31 22 92
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By gender Medals by genderGender TotalPercentageMale17.59.5103740%Female21.521.5125560%Total 39 31 22 92 100%
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By dominance Won all gold medals in one sport – 2 Badminton – 5 golds Table tennis – 4 golds
Won all medals in one event (Podium Sweep) – 1 Athletics – Women's 20 kilometres walk
Won gold and silver medals in one event – 7 Badminton – Women's singles, also with fourth place Badminton – Mixed doubles Diving – Women's 3 metre springboard Gymnastics – Women's balance beam Table tennis – Men's singles Table tennis – Women's singles Weightlifting – Men's 77 kg
Won gold and bronze medals in one event – 5 Athletics – Men's 20 kilometres walk, also with fourth place Badminton – Men's singles Gymnastics – Men's trampoline Shooting – Women's 10 metre air rifle Swimming – Women's 400 metre individual medley
Won gold medals in both men's and women's events – 6 Badminton – Singles Badminton – Doubles Diving – Synchronized 3 metre springboard Diving – Synchronized 10 metre platform Table tennis – Team Table tennis – Singles
Competitors The Chinese Olympic Committee selected a team of 396 athletes, 171 men and 225 women, to compete in 23 sports. Equestrian, football, and handball were the only sports in which China had no representation in 2012.
The Chinese team featured 29 defending champions from the Beijing games, including springboard diver Wu Minxia, light flyweight boxer Zou Shiming, gymnasts Zou Kai and Chen Yibing, and badminton player Lin Dan. Pistol shooter and former Olympic medalist Tan Zongliang, the oldest male member of the contingent, aged 41, competed at his fifth Olympic Games. Meanwhile, fencer Li Na and basketball player Wang Zhizhi each made their fourth Olympic appearance. Trap shooter Liu Yingzi was the oldest athlete of the team, aged 41, while relay swimmer Qiu Yuhan was the youngest, aged 14. Basketballer Yi Jianlian, who had previously played for the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, was the nation's flag bearer at the opening ceremony.