Published : 2026-10-08

On 8 October 1995, Chinese gymnast Li Xiaoshuang (李小雙) won the men's individual all-around title at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships held in Sabae, Japan, achieving a breakthrough for the Chinese gymnastics team in this event.

In the men's individual all-around competition at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships held in Sabae, Japan at the time, 22-year-old Chinese gymnast Li Xiaoshuang scored 9.700 on the pommel horse, 9.662 on the rings, 9.675 on the vault, 9.712 on the parallel bars, 9.637 on the high bar, and 9.612 in the floor exercise, respectively, winning the title with a total score of 57.998 from the six events.

Belarusian gymnast Vitaly Scherbo took the silver medal with a score of 57.499, while renowned Russian gymnast Yevgeny Shabayev was 3rd with a score of 57.248.

Li Xiaoshuang's victory this time can be described as a breakthrough, as this was the first time the Chinese team had won the individual all-around title in the more than 90-year history of the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.

Li Xiaoshuang was born in 1973 in Xiantao, Hubei Province, to an ordinary working-class family. He entered the provincial team in 1983 and first joined the national team in 1985.

Between 1985 and 1989, due to physical reasons, Li Xiaoshuang was promoted to and dropped from the national team three times. At the 11th Asian Games in Beijing in 1990, Li Xiaoshuang won the team and floor exercise gold medals in one fell swoop, rising to fame thereafter.

At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, he won the gold medal for the floor exercise. Later, at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Li won the men's gymnastics all-around title. This gold medal was also the Chinese gymnastics team's first individual all-around gold medal in Olympic history.

In 1997, Li Xiaoshuang officially retired. In 1999, he signed with the Hong Kong record company "Phantom Record" and recorded his first album. In 2000, he and his older brother Li Dashuang (李大雙) founded Li Xiaoshuang Sporting Goods Co., Ltd.

In January 2002, Li Xiaoshuang founded Li Xiaoshuang Gymnastics School in Xiantao, Hubei. In 2006, he signed with Chery Automobile and became a brand ambassador for Chery.