China's historic road to Olympics

2012-07-27 14:54

By (chinadaily.com.cn)

China's earliest involvement with the Olympics dates back to 1894 when Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern event, and the then a Greek prince issued an invitation to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) rulers through the French Embassy in China. They asked them to send athletes to the first Modern Olympiad, to be held in Athens in 1896, but the Qing government didn't reply due to their unfamiliarity with sports events.

China's road to the Olympics is full of twists and turns, but the Chinese people have never stopped their desire for Olympic glory. As the London Olympic Games are about to unfold the curtain, let's look back to China's play at the Olympic Games.

Liu Changchun

The 23-year-old Liu Changchun took part in the sprint competition at the 10th Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 1932. The man from Dalian, Liaoning province, was China's first Olympian and he came to the United States with 8,000 Chinese silver dollar donated by General Zhang Xueliang. Although he was eliminated in the preliminary stages of the 100 meters and 200 meters contests, his participation in China's debut at the modern Olympics is remarkable. [Photo/Xinhua]

Wu Chuanyu

In 1952, the 15th Olympic Games were held in Helsinki, Finland. The People's Republic of China received the invitation one day before the opening ceremony on July 18 and set up a delegation of 40 people on July 23. They started their journey on July 25 and arrived in the host city four days later. But the Games had been underway for several days and only swimmer Wu Chuanyu was able to take part in the 100m back stroke and he did not even get past the qualifying race. This was the first time the Five-star Red Flag had flown at the Olympic Games. [Photo/Xinhua]

Back to IOC

China regained the legal position at the International Olympic Committee, and Taiwan would then take part in the Games under the name Chinese Taipei, on Oct 25, 1979. [Photo/Xinhua]

Xu Haifeng

In 1984, the 23rd Olympic Games were held in Los Angeles. This is the first time China sent a large delegation after back to the IOC. Chinese shooter Xu Haifeng won China's first Olympic gold and China finished 4th in gold medal tally by winning 15 gold, eight silver and nine bronze medals. [Photo/Xinhua]

Xu Haifeng, right, is congratulated by Huang Zhong, vice-chairman of the All-China Sports Federation (ACSF), after he won the first Olympic gold medal for China. [Photo/Xinhua]