Le Jingyi

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Medal record
Le Jingyi
Women's Swimming
Competitor for China
Olympic Games
Gold	1996 Atlanta	100 m Freestyle
Silver	1996 Atlanta	50 m Freestyle
Silver	1992 Barcelona	4x100 m Freestyle
Silver	1996 Atlanta	4x100 m Medley
World Championsips (SC)
Gold	1995 Rio de Janeiro	50 m Freestyle
Gold	1995 Rio de Janeiro	100 m Freestyle
Gold	1995 Rio de Janeiro	4x100 m Freestyle
Gold	1997 Gothenburg	4x100 m Freestyle
Gold	1997 Gothenburg	4x100 m Medley
Bronze	1997 Gothenburg	50 m Freestyle
Bronze	1997 Gothenburg	100 m Freestyle
Summer Universiade
Gold	1993 Buffalo	50 m Freestyle
Gold	1993 Buffalo	100 m Freestyle
Pan Pacific Championships
Gold	1997 Fukuoka	50 m Freestyle
Silver	1997 Fukuoka	100 m Freestyle
Silver	1997 Fukuoka	200 m Freestyle

Le Jingyi (born March 19, 1975 in Shanghai) is a former swimmer from China who won the gold medal in the 100 metres freestyle at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. She was the face of the rising power of Chinese swimming in the mid-1990s. Due to her muscular build, she was one of many Chinese swimmers suspected of using steroids during the 1990s. Though several others were later found guilty of doping, she never tested positive for any illegal substances.

In 1992, Le won the silver medal in the 4x100 metres freestyle relay (3:40.12) at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, and also finished 6th in the 100 free (55.89). In 1993 she defeated her teammate, Olympic champion Zhuang Yong, to become national champion in the 100 free (54.72, 2nd globally after Franziska van Almsick). In December 1993, she won 4 golds, all in world record times, at the 1st ever World Short Course Championships in Spain (50 free: 24.23; 100 free: 53.01; 4x100 free relay: 3:35.97 and 4x100 medlay reply: 3:57.73).

Le stunned the swimming world in 1994 when she won the title in the 100 metres freestyle at the 1994 World Aquatics Championships in Rome, setting the then-world record with a time of 54.01 seconds. She also set a world record in the 50 metres freestyle (24.51) and anchored two world record-setting relays. She also won 3 golds in the 1995 Short Course Worlds in Brazil.

At the Atlanta Olympics, she won the 100 free (54.50) and won silver medals in the 4x100 metres freestyle relay (3:40.48) and the 50 metres freestyle (24.90).

Le continued to compete in 1997, winning the 50 free (25.24) and taking silver in the 100 (54.86) and 200 (2:00.54) at the Pan Pacific Championships. At the 1997 Chinese National Games, she was upset by Shan Ying in the 50 (24.71 to 24.88), though she took gold in the 100 (54.10, 2nd fastest all-time).

Le competed at the 1998 World Championships in Perth but only swam in relays. Surprisingly, She recorded the slowest split (57.59) among all 32 swimmers in the 4x100 free relay final, where the Chinese team placed 8th.

In 2000, Le made an attempt to qualify for her third Olympics but was obviously off-form to make the team.

While Le had been Olympic champion and world champion many times, she had never won a single medal (of any colour) at the Asian Games. She competed in the 1994 Games in Hiroshima, entering the 50 free and 4x100 free relay. In the 50 free, she set a Games record (25.26) in the heats but was disqualified in the final for a false start. In the 4x100 free relay, the Chinese team won (Le swam the 2nd leg and split 54.14) but was subsequently stripped of their gold when Lu Bin failed a doping test.

[edit] See also

World record progression 50 metres freestyle

[edit] External links

Awards
Preceded by Wang Junxia	United Press International Athlete of the Year 1994	Succeeded by Gwen Torrence
Preceded by Susie O'Neill	World Pacific Rim Swimmer of the Year 1996	Succeeded by Samantha Riley