Final Eight Olympic Torch Bearers
Chinese Former Olympians at 2008 Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony
Aug 13, 2008
After covering 137,000 kilometers over 130 days, the torch relay for the 2008 Beijing Olympics – The Journey of Harmony – ended during the Opening Ceremony on 8 August 2008. The honor of doing the final lap around the National Stadium went to eight elite Chinese former Olympians.
Xu Haifeng
Entering through Gate 3, Xu is a shooter who won China’s first-ever gold medal in Olympic history when he took the title in the men’s individual free pistol event. That was also the first gold medal awarded for the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
Born in 1957, Xu had participated in seven Olympic Games as competitor and coach, and was conferred the National Sports Honorary Medal eleven times.
Gao Min
Gao, born in 1970, was the first Chinese to win an Olympic gold medal for springboard diving. That happened during the 1988 Seoul Games. She retained the title four years later at the Barcelona Games.
Between 1986 and 1992, Gao was voted seven times by Swimming World magazine as the world’s best female diving athlete.
Li Xiaoshuang
Born in 1973, Li executed triple backflips in mid-air during his floor exercise routine to win the gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Games. Three years later, he became the first Chinese to claim the individual all-round title at the World Gymnastics Championships. He repeated the feat at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
Zhan Xugang
A weightlifter born in 1974, Zhan won the Olympic gold in the men’s lightweight category at the 1996 Atlanta Games and in the middleweight category at the 2000 Sydney Games. This made him the first Chinese athlete to win two gold medals in weightlifting.
Throughout his sports career, Zhan broke the world record nine times.
Zhang Jun
Zhang, born in 1977, is a two-time Olympic champion for badmintion (mixed doubles). He and his partner Gao Ling won China’s first gold medal in that event at the 2000 Sydney Games. The pair successfully defended the title at the 2004 Athens Games.
Chen Zhong
Chen is the Olympic champion for taekwondo at the 2000 Sydney Games (when she was only 17 years old) and the 2004 Athens Games. Her first medal was also China’s first-ever gold medal for the women’s 67-kilogram event.
The youngest among the eight at 25 years old, Chen is looking at defending her title a second time at the 2008 Beijing Games.
Sun Jinfang
At 53 years old, Sun is the oldest among the eight.
In 1981-2, Sun captained the national women’s volleyball team and led China to its first world title and subsequent World Cup, World Championships and Olympic titles.
Sun retired in 1983 but remained active in the sports scene. She is currently a member of the Chinese Olympic Committee.
Li Ning
Born in 1963, Li is most famous for having won a total of six medals (three gold, two silver and a bronze) in gymnastics at the 1984 Los Angeles Games. In 1987, he became the only Asian member of the International Olympic Committee Athletes' Commission.
Li retired in 1988 and has since channeled his passion for sports into a successful sports brand enterprise. He was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2000, and is its first Chinese inductee.
Being the last torch bearer, Li had the honor of lighting the Olympic cauldron.
These eight torch bearers, together with the eight Olympic Flag bearers, reminded the world of China’s achievements as a sports nation.
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