Published : 08/10/2025

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 joined the provincial team in 1983 and the national team in 1989.

Between 1983 and 1989, because his physical condition was not outstanding, Li was on and off 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.

Li Xiaoshuang retired in 1997. Since then, he and his elder brother, Li Dashuang (李大雙), started the Li Xiaoshuang Sports Goods Co., Ltd., and signed a contract with the Hong Kong record company "Phantom Arts", recording his first album.

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