Li Li (gymnast)

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Li Li (born February 26, 1975 in Xingning County, Guangdong Province) is an artistic gymnast from China. She competed during the early 1990s, and retired in 1993. An Olympian, World Cup medallist and national champion, her best piece was beam. Here, she pioneered the exceptionally difficult and innovative 1 1/4 turning back spin. No other gymnast has been able to perform the maneuver with as many spins.

Li Li also performed a rare German giant into a tkatchev on the un-even bars, including in the Event Finals of the 1991 World Championships and the 1992 Olympic Games, where her teammate Lu Li won the gold with a perfect 10.0.

Li Li took the early lead in the all-around of the 1993 World Championships after performing on the beam and stunning the crowd with a Yurchenko loop. She was in contention to win the beam gold in the Event Finals, but after a mistake on a jump, she decided to duplicate the element, and as a result went over-time, which cost her two tenths. The other favorite for the gold, Shannon Miller, had a disaster, and the gold went to Lavinia Milosovici, who had a simple and plain routine in comparison to Miller and Li Li.