Li Li (gymnast)

Li Li (李莉, born February 26, 1975, in Xingning County, Guangdong Province) is an artistic gymnast from China. She competed during the early 1990s, and retired in 1994. An Olympian, World Cup medallist and national champion, the beam was her best apparatus. Here, she pioneered the exceptionally difficult and innovative 11⁄4 turn on back in kip position, to which the skill is named after her.[1] No other gymnast has been able to perform the maneuver with as many spins.

Li Li
Country represented China
BornFebruary 26, 1975 (1975-02-26) (age 48)
Xingning, Guangdong
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
LevelSenior International
Eponymous skills"Li Li" (uneven bars)
"Li Li" (balance beam)
Retired1994
Medal record
Representing  China
World Cup Final
Silver medal – second place1990 BrusselsBalance Beam
Goodwill Games
Bronze medal – third place1990 SeattleTeam
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place1990 BeijingTeam
Silver medal – second place1990 BeijingUneven Bars

Career

Li made her international debut at the 1990 Goodwill Games in Seattle, USA, where she wowed the world with her trademark 11⁄4 back spin on the beam, as well as a rare German giant into a Tkatchev on the uneven bars. Later the same year, she won one gold (team) and silver (bars) at the Asian Games, followed by another silver (beam) at the World Cup (her teammate Yang Bo took the gold). The following year, she competed at the 1991 World Championships in Indianapolis where the Chinese team placed fourth.

At the 1992 Olympic Games, Li finished 14th in the all-round, and made the bars final where she placed eighth (9.887).[2] Her teammate Lu Li won the gold with a perfect 10.0, one of only two 10s awarded at those games. Again the Chinese women finished fourth in the team competition.[2]

Li Li took the early lead in the all-around of the 1993 World Championships in Birmingham after performing on her best event, the beam. She stunned the crowd with a Yurchenko loop followed by the 11⁄4 back spin, and scored 9.837, the second highest score awarded on that night (Tatiana Lysenko got a 9.862 on her first vault). Li dropped to ninth place overall in the end after mediocre performance on other apparatus. She was in contention to win the beam gold in the event finals, but after a mistake on her Yang Bo jump, she decided to duplicate the element and as a result went over-time, which cost her two-tenths of a point and dropped her to fourth place (9.600). Without the deduction, she would have taken the silver. Another favorite for the gold, Shannon Miller, had a disastrous performance, falling from the beam twice and sitting on her dismount (7.850). The gold went to Lavinia Miloșovici (9.850), who had a simple and plain routine in comparison to Miller's and Li Li's.

Li went on to win the beam title in the 1993 East Asian Games and also the 1993 Chinese National Games. She was in the 1994 World Championships in Brisbane but failed to make the beam final, earning a 9.237. She retired from the sport soon after.

She is now a women's gymnastics coach at Buckeye Gymnastics in Westerville, Ohio.[3]

Eponymous skills

Li has three eponymous skills listed in the Code of Points.[4]

ApparatusNameDescriptionDifficulty[lower-alpha 1]
Uneven barsLi LiClear rear pike support (legs together) on high bar – full circle swing backward with stoop out backward to hang on high barC
Uneven barsLi LiClear rear pike support (legs together) on high bar – full circle swing backward with counter flight backward straddledD
Balance beamLi Li1¼ (450°) turn on back in kip position (hip-leg angle closed)D
  1. Valid for the 2022-2024 Code of Points

Competition history
Year Event TF AA VT UB BB FX
1990
Beijing Asian Games1st place, gold medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Cottbus International3rd place, bronze medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
Seattle Goodwill Games1085
Brussels World Cup Final102nd place, silver medalist(s)
1991East Asian Championships1st place, gold medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
Li Ning Cup2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Tokyo Cup3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
World Sports Fair1st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Indianapolis World Championships496
1992Chinese National Championships4
DTB Cup42nd place, silver medalist(s)
Gander Memorial3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Barcelona Olympic Games4148
Swiss Cup4
1993
Shanghai East Asian Games1st place, gold medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)4
Birmingham World Championships94

[5]

References
  1. "43rd ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, Tokyo (JPN), 7-16 October 2011, RESULTS, WOMEN'S UNEVEN BARS FINAL, SAT 15 OCT 2011 15:10" (PDF). fedintgym.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-10-27. Retrieved 2011-11-12.
  2. "Li Li". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2020-04-18. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
  3. "Team Staff – buckeyegymnastics.com".
  4. "2022-2024 Code of Points Women's Artistic Gymnastics" (PDF). International Gymnastics Federation. p. 94, 130, 208, 209. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  5. "Li Li (CHN)". Gymn Forum. 21 November 2005. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
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