Li Xiaopeng (gymnast)

Not to be confused with Li Xiaoping.

In this Chinese name, the family name is Li.

Li Xiaopeng
Li in 2024
Personal information
Born	(1981-07-27) 27 July 1981 Changsha, Hunan, China
Height	5 ft 3 in (160 cm)
Gymnastics career
Discipline	Men's artistic gymnastics
Country represented	China
Eponymous skills	Li Xiao Peng (vault) Li Xiaopeng (parallel bars)
Retired	2009
Medal record Artistic Gymnastics Olympic Games 2000 Sydney Team 2000 Sydney Parallel bars 2008 Beijing Team 2008 Beijing Parallel bars 2004 Athens Parallel bars World Championships 1997 Lausanne Team 1999 Tianjin Team 1999 Tianjin Vault 2002 Debrecen Vault 2002 Debrecen Parallel bars 2003 Anaheim Team 2003 Anaheim Vault 2003 Anaheim Parallel bars 1997 Lausanne Parallel bars 2005 Melbourne Parallel bars 1997 Lausanne Floor exercise World Cup Final 1998 Sabae Floor exercise 1998 Sabae Parallel bars 2002 Stuttart Parallel bars 2006 Sao Paulo Parallel bars Asian Games 1998 Bangkok Team 1998 Bangkok Parallel bars 2002 Busan Team 2002 Busan Vault 2002 Busan Parallel bars 1998 Bangkok Vault 1998 Bangkok Floor National Games 2001 Guangzhou Vault 2001 Guangzhou Parallel bars 2005 Nanjing Vault 2005 Nanjing Parallel bars

Li Xiaopeng (Chinese: 李小鹏; pinyin: Lǐ Xiǎopéng; July 27, 1981) is a Chinese gymnast who specializes in parallel bars and vault. He currently holds 16 world titles, more than any other gymnast in China. On August 29, 2009, he was the torchbearer for the torch relay of the East Asian Games in Hong Kong. He retired from the sport in late 2009.

Early life and education

Li Xiaopeng was born Li Peng. He changed his name in 1997 to avoid sharing the same with the then Premier Li Peng.

He began gymnastics training at Changsha Spare-time Sports School in Hunan 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.

Gymnastics career

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.

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 2000 Summer Olympics. At the Sydney Olympics, 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 was the only person to win three gold medals, namely for the 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 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, he 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 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 a 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 gymnast in China. He retired in late 2009.

Post-gymnastics career

Li Xiaopeng and his daughter have been regular cast members on the show Dad is Back (a version of Korean reality-variety show The Return of Superman) on which fathers have to take care of their children without the help of anyone (including their wives) for 48 hours. After the first season aired, his daughter gained a lot of love from the public and fans. He also appeared on other television shows such as the first season of The Amazing Race China and the 2016 Race the World (非凡搭檔), which he had to quit before the finale due to the expected birth of his second child.

Personal life

He first met his wife, Li "Angel" Anqi, at the 2003 World Championship in Anaheim, California. Her father, Li Xiaoping, served as a host and interpreter for the Chinese team. They became engaged in 2008, and married in Los Angeles on June 5, 2010. The couple held a second marriage ceremony in Beijing on July 11, 2010. On January 12, 2012, they had their first child, Olivia (Li Xinqi). His second child, a son named Max, was born in June 2016.

Eponymous skills

Li has two named elements in the code of points. A vault, first performed in 2001, was given a 5.4 difficulty. A parallel bars skill, first added to the code of points in 2003, was named for Li in 2013. The parallel bars skill was originally given an SE difficulty, but was moved to an F difficulty in 2006 and most recently was moved to a G difficulty in 2025.

Gymnastics elements named after Li Xiaopeng

Apparatus	Name	Description	Difficulty	Added to Code of Points
Vault	Li Xiao Peng	"Round off, ½ t. and hdspr. fwd. and salto fwd. str. with 5/2 t."	5.4	2001
Parallel bars	Li Xiaopeng	"Roll bwd. with salto bwd. pike to upper arm hang"	G (0.7)	2003

Competitive highlights

Li in 2008

Year	Competition description	Location	Apparatus	Rank-final	Score-final	Rank-qualifying	Score-qualifying
1997
	World Championships	Lausanne	Team	1	226.117
			Parallel bars	2	9.737
			Floor exercise	3	9.537
1998
	World Cup/Series Final	Sabae	Parallel bars	1	9.750
			Floor exercise	1	9.425
1999
	World Championships	Tianjin	Team	1	230.395	1	230.546
			Vault	1	9.668
			Parallel bars	6	9.137
2000
	Olympic Games	Sydney	Team	1	231.919
			Parallel bars	1	9.825	3	9.762
			Floor exercise	5	9.737	2	9.725
2002
	World Cup/Series Final	Stuttgart	Parallel bars	1	9.837
	World Championships	Debrecen	Vault	1	9.818	1	9.718
			Parallel bars	1	9.812	1	9.587
2003
	World Championships	Anaheim	Team	1	171.996	3	225.119
			Vault	1	9.818
			Parallel bars	1	9.825
			Horizontal bar	5	9.662
2004
	World Cup/Series Final	Birmingham	Parallel bars	4	9.712
	Olympic Games	Athens	Team	5	171.257	4	229.507
			All around			84	28.699
			Vault	7	9.368	2	9.800
			Parallel bars	3	9.762	2	9.787
			Rings			61	9.112
2005
	World Championships	Melbourne	All around			86	19.137
			Vault			13	9.437
			Parallel bars	2	9.675	5	9.662
2006
	World Cup/Series Final	São Paulo	Parallel bars	1	16.450
	World Cup/Series	Stuttgart	Parallel bars	1	16.300	1	16.350
2008
	World Cup/Series	Tianjin	Parallel bars	1	16.775
			Horizontal bar	2	16.200
		Cottobus	Parallel bars	1	16.250	1	16.500
			Horizontal bar	3	15.975	2	15.925
	Olympic Games	Beijing	Team	1	286.125	1	374.675
			All around			45	78.500
			Parallel bars	1	16.450	1	16.425
			Horizontal bar			10	15.400
			Vault	DNQ	DNQ	-	16.775 (one vault only)
			Floor exercise			28	15.100
			Rings			42	14.800

External links

• Li Xiaopeng at World Gymnastics
• Li Xiaopeng at the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame
• Li Xiaopeng at Olympics.com
• Li Xiaopeng at the Chinese Olympic Committee (archived)
• Li Xiaopeng at Olympedia
• Li Xiaopeng at InterSportStats