The People's Republic of China competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, United States. It was the first appearance at the Summer Games for the country after its mostly symbolic presence at the Summer Games in 1952 during which the dispute between the Republic of China and the PRC resulted in the former withdrawing all its athletes. After 1952 and until these games, the PRC boycotted the Olympics due to the Taiwan's presence as the Republic of China. In 1984, the Republic of China competed as Chinese Taipei and the PRC competed as China. Due to the then ongoing Sino-Soviet split, China did not participate in the Soviet-led boycott. In the previous games, China participated the United States-led boycott to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.
215 competitors, 132 men and 83 women, took part in 105 events in 19 sports. The first gold medal to be awarded at the Los Angeles Olympics was also the first-ever medal to be won by an athlete from China when Xu Haifeng won the 50 m Pistol event. Li Ning won also 6 medals in gymnastics, 3 gold, 2 silver, and 1 bronze, earning him the nickname "Prince of Gymnasts" in China. China also earned 15 gold medals, the most in Asia at that time.
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Medalists
The following Chinese competitors won medals at the games. In the by discipline sections below, medalists' names are bolded.
Gold
Xu Haifeng
Zeng Guoqiang
Wu Shude
Li Yuwei
Chen Weiqiang
Yao Jingyuan
Wu Xiaoxuan
Luan Jujie
Li Ning (3)
Lou Yun
Ma Yanhong
Volleyball, Women's team competition (Hou Yuzhu, Jiang Ying, Lang Ping, Li Yanjun, Liang Yan, Su Huijuan, Yang Xiaojun, Yang Xilan, Zhang Rongfang, Zheng Meizhu, Zhou Xiaolan, and Zhu Ling)
Zhou Jihong.
Silver
Li Lingjuan
Tan Liangde
Zhou Peishun
Lai Runming
Tong Fei
Men's gymnastics team (Lou Yun, Tong Fei, Li Ning, Xu Zhiqiang, Li Xiaoping, Li Yuejiu, Zou Limin)
Li Ning
Lou Yun
Bronze
Zhu Jianhua
Li Kongzheng
Li Ning
Huang Shiping
Wang Yifu
Wu Xiaoxuan
Women's Gymnastics Team (Ma Yanhong, Zhou Qiurui, Zhou Ping, Chen Yongyan, Huang Qun, Wu Jiani, and Ming Guixiu)
Women's Basketball Team Competition (Song Xiaobo, Lijuan Xiu, Chen Yuefang, Zheng Haixia, Qiu Chen, Li Xiaoqin, Zhang Hui, Cong Xuedi, Zhang Yueqin, Ba Yan, Wang Jun, and Liu Qing)
Women's Handball Team (Wu Xinjiang, Liu Yumei, Chen Jing, Zhang Weihong, Gao Xiumin, Wang Linwei, Liu Liping, Zhang Peijun, Sun Xiulan, Li Lan, Wang Mingxing, Chen Zheng, Guo Yingze, He Jianping, and Zhu Juefeng).
Archery
The PRC sent six archers to the Olympics. The women's team was more successful than the men's, earning a silver medal and an additional top eight finish.
Women's Individual Competition:
Li Lingjuan - 2559 points (→ Silver Medal)
Wu Yanan - 2493 points (→ 8th place)
Wang Jin - 2445 points (→ 18th place)
Men's Individual Competition:
Yong Shan - 2483 points (→ 18th place)
Zhang Zheng - 2405 points (→ 36th place)
Feng Zemin - 2389 points (→ 38th place)
Athletics
Basketball
Men's
The Chinese team failed to qualify for the quarterfinals and finished in 10th place.
Wang Haibo
Lü Jinqing
Huang Yunlong
Guo Yonglin
Kuang Lubin
Ji Zhaoguang
Li Yaguang
Sun Fengwu
Wang Libin
Liu Jianli
Hu Zhangbao
Zhang Bin
Women's team competition
Ba Yan
Chen Yuefang
Cong Xuedi
Liu Qing
Li Xiaoqin
Qiu Chen
Song Xiaobo
Wang Jun
Xiu Lijuan
Zhang Hui
Zhang Yueqin
Zheng Haixia
Cycling
Seven cyclists, four men and three women, represented China in 1984.
Team time trial
Han Shuxiang, Liu Fu, Wang Wanqiang, and Zeng Bo — 21st place
Women's individual road race
Lu Suyan — 31st place
Wang Li — 36th place
Lu Yu'e — 41st place
Diving
Men's 3m Springboard
Tan Liangde
Preliminary Round — 600.99
Final — 662.31 (→ Silver Medal)
Li Hongping
Preliminary Round — 611.55
Final — 646.35 (→ 4th place)
Men's 10m Platform
Li Kongzheng
Final ( Bronze Medal)
Fencing
18 fencers, 13 men and 5 women, represented China in 1984.
Men's foil
Liu Yunhong
Chu Shisheng
Yu Yifeng
Men's team foil
Chu Shisheng, Cui Yining, Yu Yifeng, Wang Wei, Zhang Jian, Liu Yunhong
Men's épée
Cui Yining
Zhao Zhizhong
Zong Xiangqing
Men's team épée
Cui Yining, Pang Jin, Zhao Zhizhong, Zong Xiangqing
Men's sabre
Chen Jinchu
Wang Ruiji
Liu Guozhen
Men's team sabre
Wang Ruiji, Chen Jinchu, Yang Shisen, Liu Guozhen, Liu Yunhong
Women's foil
Jujie Luan
Zhu Qingyuan
Li Huahua
Women's team foil
Jujie Luan, Zhu Qingyuan, Li Huahua, Wu Qiuhua, Zhu Minzhu
Gymnastics
Men
Lou Yun — Vault, Gold Medal
Li Ning — Floor Exercise, Pommel Horse, Rings, Gold Medals; Vault, Silver Medal; All-Around, Bronze Medal
Tong Fei — Horizontal Bar, Silver Medal
Women
Ma Yanhong — Uneven Bars, Gold Medal
Handball
Women's Team Competition
Preliminary Round Robin
Lost to the United States (22–25)
Defeated West Germany (20–19)
Tied with South Korea (24-24)
Defeated Austria (21–16)
Lost to Yugoslavia (25–31) → Bronze Medal
Team Roster
Wu Xingjiang
He Jianping
Zhu Juefeng
Zhang Weihong
Gao Xiumin
Wang Linwei
Liu Liping
Sun Xiulan
Liu Yumei
Li Lan
Wang Mingxing
Chen Zhen
Swimming
Men's 100m Freestyle
Mu Lati
Heat — 52.82 (→ did not advance, 31st place)
Shen Jianqiang
Heat — 52.84 (→ did not advance, 32nd place)
Men's 200m Freestyle
Shen Jianqiang
Heat — 1:56.08 (→ did not advance, 34th place)
Men's 100m Backstroke
Wang Hao
Heat — 59.13 (→ did not advance, 23rd place)
Li Zhongyi
Heat — 1:00.66 (→ did not advance, 30th place)
Men's 200m Backstroke
Wang Hao
Heat — 2:12.28 (→ did not advance, 28th place)
Men's 100m Breaststroke
Jin Fu
Heat — 1:05.05 (→ did not advance, 17th place)
Wang Lin
Heat — DSQ (→ did not advance, no ranking)
Men's 200m Breaststroke
Jin Fu
Heat — 2:26.?? (→ did not advance, 26th place)
Volleyball
Men's Team Competition
Preliminary Round (Group B)
Lost to Japan (0–3)
Lost to Italy (0–3)
Defeated Egypt (3–0)
Lost to Canada (0–3)
Classification Matches
5th/8th place: Lost to South Korea (1–3)
7th/8th place: Lost to Japan (0–3) → 8th place
Team Roster
Yan Jianming
Song Jinwei
Yu Juekin
Zhai Jixin
Zhang Yousheng
Zhao Duo
Yang Liqun
Cao Ping
Shen Keqin
Zuo Yue
Xiao Jinsong
Liu Changcheng
Women's Team Competition
Preliminary Round (Group B)
Defeated Brazil (3–0)
Defeated West Germany (3–0)
Lost to United States (1–3)
Water polo
Men's Team Competition
Preliminary Round (Group A)
Lost to Netherlands (8–10)
Lost to Yugoslavia (7–12)
Defeated Canada (6–5)
Final Round (Group E)
Defeated Japan (10–4)
Lost to Italy (8–11)
Defeated Brazil (11–9)
Lost to Greece (9–10) → 9th place
Team Roster
Deng Jun
Wang Xiaotian
Song Weigang
Li Jianming
Huang Ying
Cai Tianxiong
Qu Baowei
Zhao Bilong
Chen Zhixiong
Cai Shengliu
Pan Shenghua
Huang Long
Guan Shishi