Li Xiaopeng (; July 27, 1981 in

Changsha Changsha (; ; ; Changshanese pronunciation: (), Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is the capital and the largest city of Hunan Province of China. Changsha is the 17th most populous city in China with a population of over 10 million, and ...

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangx ...

) is a male Chinese

gymnast Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

, who specializes in

parallel bars Parallel bars are floor apparatus consisting of two wooden bars slightly over long and positioned at roughly head height. Parallel bars are used in artistic gymnastics and also for physical therapy and home exercise. Gymnasts may optionally we ...

and

vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosure ...

. He currently holds 16 world titles, more than any other gymnast in China. On 29 August 2009, he was the torch bearer for the torch relay of the

East Asian Games The East Asian Games was a multi-sport event organized by the East Asian Games Association (EAGA) and held every four years from 1993 to 2013. Among those who competed included athletes from East Asian countries and territories of the Olympic ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

. He retired from the sport in late 2009.

Early years

He began gymnastics training at

Spare-time Sports School in

Province at the age of 6 and was a member of the Hunan provincial team at 12. Li's diligence and skill soon set him apart from his peers, which could be proved by his several provincial titles. At the age of 15, he was selected into the national team.

National team

At 16, Li Xiaopeng became China's youngest world (team) gymnastics champion ever when he and his teammates won the men's team final at the 1997 Lausanne World Championships. At the same event, Li also received a silver medal for parallel bars, just second to his teammate Zhang Jingjin, and a bronze for

floor exercise In gymnastics, the floor is a specially prepared exercise surface, which is considered an apparatus. It is used by both male and female gymnasts. The gymnastics event performed on the floor is called floor exercise. The English abbreviation for t ...

. At the 1999 Tianjin World Championships, Li was part of the Chinese team to become men's team champion. Individually, he won his first gold medal in vault. However, his failure in parallel bars left something to be desired, which pushed him to train harder for the

Sydney Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

. At the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, Li and his teammates gave an outstanding performance, earning them the gold medal at the prestigious men's team event, a first for Chinese gymnasts. Li also won an individual gold medal in parallel bars. At the 2003 Anaheim World Championships, Li Xiaopeng was the only person to win three gold medals, namely for men's team final, vault and parallel bars. Thus he was voted as the 2003 World Gymnast of the Year. However, due to a severe foot injury, Li's performance at the

2004 Athens Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

was unsatisfactory. China finished 5th at the men's team final, and Li could only get a bronze in parallel bars, after being undefeated in major competitions since 2000. He was the fourth athlete to compete in the vault event finals, but unfortunately shuffled during the initial sprint and fell on the first jump. Li had been suffering from a chronic ankle injury and had an operation in 2005. He rested for that whole year, refraining from participating in any competitions. In 2006, he made a successful comeback by winning a gold in parallel bars at the São Paulo World Cup Series Final. By then he had tied with his idol, China's gymnastic legend Li Ning, by winning a record of 14 world titles. In 2008, after suffering from toe injury, he came back and won titles for parallel bars at the two gymnastics World Cups, Cottbus and Tianjin. After winning two gold medals for men's team and parallel bars at the Beijing Olympics, he surpassed Li Ning by holding 16 world titles, more than any other gymnasts in China. He retired in late 2009.

Competitive highlights

Influences

The

Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique The International Gymnastics Federation (French: Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique, FIG) is the body governing all disciplines of competitive gymnastics. Its headquarters is in Lausanne, Switzerland. It was founded on July 23, 1881, in ...

has named two routines after Li. They are "Li Xiaopeng hop" in vault, and "Li Xiaopeng arm hang" in parallel bars.

Personal life

He met his wife, a Chinese-American girl Li "Angel" Anqi daughter of former gymnasts

Li Xiaoping Li Xiaoping () is a male Chinese gymnast. He competed at the 1984 Olympic Games, and won a silver medal in Men's Team. In the 1983 World Championships, he won a gold medal for Men's Team and pommel horse. After the olympics, Xiaoping att ...

and Wen Jia at the 2003 World Championship in

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most ...

where her father served as a host and interpreter for the Chinese team. They became engaged in 2008, and married in LA on June 5, 2010. The couple held a second marriage ceremony in Beijing on July 11, 2010. Due to a problem with the visa of Li's parents, they were unable to attend the LA wedding ceremony. On January 12, 2012, they had their first child named Olivia (Li Xinqi). His second child, a son, named Max was born in June 2016.

Television shows

Li Xiaopeng and his daughter have been regular cast members on the show "Dad came back" (a version of Korean reality-variety show "Return of Superman") on which dads have to take care of their child/children without help of anyone (including their wives) in 48 hours. After the first season was aired, his daughter gained a lot of love from public and fans. He also appeared on other television shows such as the first season of ''

The Amazing Race China ''The Amazing Race China'' () (Previously known as ''The Amazing Race'') is a Chinese adventure reality game show based on the international ''Amazing Race'' franchise. Following the premise of other versions of the format, the show follows te ...

'' and the 2016 ''

Race the World ''Race the World'' () is a Chinese reality television series that aired on Jiangsu Television in 2016 that features twelve contestants that formed teams of two in a race around the world to win a grand prize of ¥500,000 and a lifetime usage of ...

'' (), which he had to quit before the finale due to the expected birth of his second child.

References

External links

* * *
Li Xiao Peng (Parallel bars)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Xiaopeng 1981 births Living people Chinese male artistic gymnasts Gymnasts at the 2000 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 2004 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships Olympic bronze medalists for China Olympic gold medalists for China Olympic gymnasts of China Sportspeople from Changsha World champion gymnasts Olympic medalists in gymnastics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Asian Games medalists in gymnastics Gymnasts at the 1998 Asian Games Gymnasts at the 2002 Asian Games Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Asian Games gold medalists for China Asian Games silver medalists for China Asian Games bronze medalists for China Medalists at the 1998 Asian Games Medalists at the 2002 Asian Games Gymnasts from Hunan Originators of elements in artistic gymnastics The Amazing Race contestants Participants in Chinese reality television series