Since 1984, China have taken part in every single edition of the Olympics and have also been a dominant force in the Games.
Follow Us
The Olympic history of China is both filled with success and complexity. The complexity comes from the fact that, for a number of years, China did not participate in the Games. The reason goes back to 1924. Then, the Republic of China took part in only the opening ceremony of the Games before the four athletes sent – all of whom were tennis players – withdrew from the Games.
The Republic of China took part in 1932, 1936 and 1948. However, the result of the Chinese Civil War saw the ROC relocate to the island of Taiwan. Thus, in 1952, the Republic of China – featuring Taiwanese athletes – and the People’s Republic of China both took part. The ROC would withdraw from the 1952 Games in protest. The PRC – which till date is the team from China – boycotted the Games between 1952-80.
However, since 1984 they have taken part and been a dominant force in the Games. They have only finished once outside the top 4 medals standings in that time – in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. They were third in the medal standings in the previous edition of the Games held at Rio. Yet their crowning glory in the Games came at 2008 – the one and only time they finished atop the medal standings.
The 2008 Games, held in Beijing, saw China dominate the medal standings in terms of gold medals won. They won a total of 48 gold medals, 8 more than runners-up USA and double the number of gold medals won by third-place Russia (24). However, their overall medal tally was the second highest in the Games with exactly 100. It was USA, with 112 medals, who finished with the most overall medals.
The notable medal winners were men’s badminton star Lin Dan and women’s badminton star Zhang Ning. The country also won plenty of gold medals in events that they were traditionally strong at, including table tennis. The gymnastics teams were caught up in age related controversies but exonerated by the IOA. They too would end up winning medals.
All in all, the Beijing Games was a big success for China. Not only did it see them get their best ever medal haul, but also boosted their image on the global stage. Since then, they have slipped down the table slightly – finishing second in 2012 and third in 2016. However, they remain a force to be reckoned with in the Games.
As is to be expected given their success, China have a number of great Olympians who have emerged from the country. Female diver Wu Minxia is the greatest Olympian to have participated under the Chinese flag. She has won a total of 7 medals, out of which 5 are gold and 1 each are silver and bronze.
Two other athletes – gymnast Zou Kai and diver Chen Roulin – have won 5 gold medals apiece. Kai has won 6 medals overall, as she also counts one bronze in her repertoire. Roulin, it is worth noting, has only ever won gold medals.
Diver Guo Jingjing has also won a total of six medals, from which four are gold and two are silver. Diver Fu Mingxia has also won four golds and six five medals overall, with one being silver. Others to have won four gold medals are table tennis star Wang Nan, gymnast Li Xiaopeng and table tennis stars Deng Yaping and Zhang Yining.
Besides these names mentioned, there are multiple athletes who have won 3 gold medals across the Games. Furthermore, there are many who have won less golds than that but have still notched up a total of 5 medals of any colour across the Games.
As is evidenced above, Chinese athletes have won a number of gold medals across multiple disciplines. However, there are certain sports where they are clearly more successful than in others. The sports of diving, gymnastics, table tennis and swimming often sees China put up athletes in multiple categories and thus their medal count in such sports is fairly high.
There is also shooting and badminton, two sports that have seen China produce a number of gold medal wins. Interestingly, China have won most medals in diving, weightlifting and gymnastics. In diving they have won 40 gold medals, in weightlifting 31 and in gymnastics 29. They have won 28 golds in table tennis, a sport in which they lead every other nation in terms of gold medals.
They have claimed 22 gold medals in shooting and a further 18 in badminton, with the latter also being a sport in which they have won the most medals for any country. China have had less success in athletics and track and field events, judo, taekwondo too. But they have still managed multiple gold medals as well as medals of other colours across these disciplines in their time at the Games.
