Olympics | Former Chinese medalists still shine on international sports stage with brand-new roles

At the Paris Olympics, former Chinese medalists still make efforts to the games.

Guo Jingjing: Diving Judge

Guo Jingjing, former athlete of the Chinese diving "Dream Team", is also known as the "Diving Queen". This year, she serves as a diving judge and also acts as the head judge in rotation on some event days, which attracts lots of attention. 

She has won a total of 95 international medals in her career, including 77 golds, 14 silvers and 4 bronzes, starting from the 2001 World Championships in Fukuoka where she won her first World Championship gold medal, according to the World Aquatics.

She has conquered countless spectators and judges with her beautiful figure and superb diving skills and is now contributing to the development of diving with her professional knowledge and rich experience.

She said, "I am very excited about this Paris Olympics and more than delighted to play a role in it as a diving judge."

Liu Shiwen: Chair of the International Table Tennis Federation(ITTF) Athletes' Commission

Liu Shiwen, former table tennis Olympic champion, also attends the Paris Olympics as the chair of the International Table Tennis Federation(ITTF) Athletes' Commission, aiming to promote table tennis across the globe.

As a famous athlete of the Chinese table table tennis team, she has won a total of 20 world championships in her career, five of which are from World Cups.   

When she was elected as the president of the ITTF Athletes' Commission, she said, "I will keep on learning and strive for more benefits for athletes in the future."

Zhang Hong: Prize Presentation Guest for the first gold medal

On July 27th, young athletes Huang Yuting and Sheng Lihao won the first gold medal in the 10m air rifle mixed team event. Zhang Hong, the champion of the Winter Olympics and member of International Olympic Committee (IOC) Athletes' Commission, awarded the gold medals to them.

She won China's first gold medal in speed skating at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and was elected to the IOC Athletes Commission in 2018.

She took a break from sport games after the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics and appeared at the Beijing Winter Olympics four years later as an IOC commentator and prize presenter. She returned to South Korea in January 2024 as the chair of the IOC Coordination Commission for the Youth Olympic Games(YOG) Gangwon 2024, where she was busy coordinating and resolving operational issues such as events, venues, transportation and other issues.

Zhang Guangyue: Judo Referee

As the first female professional Olympic referee from China, Zhang Guangyue referees the Judo events at the Paris Olympics, presenting the professional image of Judo on behalf of China.

She has made lots of achievement during her career as an athlete. In the second year after her retirement, she obtained a Grade One referee certificate. With a good command of English, she also played an important role in technical services in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

For the Principle of Avoidance, she won't referee Chinese athletes in the games. However, having witnessed the glory of the Chinese judo team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, she is looking forward to seeing their progress in Paris. She said, "I hope to see Chinese athletes raise the national flag and play the national anthem again at the international games."

Li Lingwei: Executive Member of the IOC

Li Lingwei, Vice-President of the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC), was elected as an executive member of the IOC at the 142nd IOC Session on July 24th.

She is the first female badminton player to have won gold medals in women's singles at the World Championships, World Cup, All England Open Badminton Championships and other world-class finals in the history of badminton.

She said, "I have won a lot of gold medals in my career but Olympic gold medals. However, I feel that I have won an Olympic medal in another sense since I became a member of the IOC in 2012,.

She said that it's still a long way to strive for more voice for China's sports. She hopes that more people could get involved, participate in rule-making, and play a role in sports diplomacy.

 

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