MEET THE 'PRINCE
OF GYMNASTICS'

When Li Ning won six out of seven gold medals at the Sixth World Cup Gymnastics Competition in 1982, the world-class gymnast not only made history, he won himself the title “Prince of Gymnastics”.

He went on to become the most honored athlete at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, where he won three gold, two silvers and a bronze. After his retirement, Li Ning, a role model for athlete career transition, founded the successful sportswear company Li-Ning Limited, which became an official partner of the 45th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Nanning (CHN). In 2008, Li Ning, who had already been named one of the “World’s Most Excellent Athletes of the 20th Century” by the World Sports Correspondent Association, lit the Olympic flame during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games.

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Li Ning, how would you describe your experience at the 1984 Olympic Games?

Absolutely special! Because you cannot attend many Olympic Games in your lifetime. To me, that was a very unique sports and life experience. Having the opportunity to participate in big sports competitions like this is an important part of each athlete's dream. My impression of the 1984 Games is still very deep. I was very nervous, because I was not sure if I would be able to perform my training skills well at the competition.

 

What did lighting the Olympic flame in Beijing mean to you?

I think lighting the Olympic flame is an honour for one as an individual as well as an athlete. China hosting the Olympic Games for the first time in history was a very special moment for the Chinese people and the whole world and it left everyone with beautiful memories. It was a once in a lifetime experience for me.

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What has gymnastics taught and brought you in life?

Gymnastics was fundamental for me to grow from a child to an independent and confident young man who engages in society. Gymnastics taught me a lot on a personal level. On a business level, the experience of engaging in gymnastics was also helpful in establishing our brand and communicating with young gymnasts. I think what sports can bring are motivation and fun. Most of my training memories are happy ones. There were injuries, defeats, and maybe pain in training, but the encouragement gained out of this process and every bit of progress, improvement and achievement at every competition brought lots of joy to me.

 

Do you have any advice for young aspiring gymnasts?

Gymnastics can give you many dreams. These dreams bring young children great motivation and joy. I think, if you can just stick to your dreams, you will be able to control your body strength to artistic perfection just like those World champions.

 

What does it mean to be a gymnast in China?

Due to the fact that we have many World champions in the sport, gymnastics enjoys a fairly high status in China. The names and image of these World champions are very distinctive, very lovable and respectable to all Chinese families and especially to the hearts of mothers and young children. However, gymnastics in China still lacks presence in schools and amongst the general public. Only a talented few are discovered and trained, but for those with real interest, more resources should be provided to help them engage in gymnastics.

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How do you see gymnastics in the past, today and in the future?

It is difficult to compare gymnastics as we have seen it in the past with today's sport. Techniques have evolved, rules have changed, and so has the apparatus. But there is one thing that I believe is consistent and that is the spirit of the athletes, the spirit of pursuing improvement and of striving for the champion's title. The aim of achieving a perfect combination of technical movements and artistic body performances remains the same over time. Gymnastics is not only skills and strength, but a combination of skills, strength and art, and there should be a continuous balance. With the progress of society, human development will have different standards of beauty and difficulty. What used to be difficult yesterday might be easy to accomplish today, and become valueless tomorrow. The perception of beauty might be continuous and new understandings of beauty will be created. I believe that in the future, the charm of gymnastics will still be the perfect combination of strength, skill and art.