China at the 2012 Summer Olympics
The People's Republic of China competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, between 27 July and 12 August 2012. This was the nation's ninth appearance at the Summer Olympics since its debut in 1952. A total of 396 Chinese athletes, 171 men and 225 women, were selected by the Chinese Olympic Committee to compete in 23 sports. For the fourth time in its Olympic history, China was represented by more female than male athletes.
China left London with a total of 91 medals – 38 gold, 31 silver, and 22 bronze – finishing second only to the United States in the global medal standings. The Chinese delegation proved particularly successful in several sports, winning twelve medals in gymnastics, ten in diving and swimming, eight in badminton, seven in weightlifting and shooting, and six in table tennis. Chinese athletes dominated in badminton and table tennis, where they each won gold medals in all sporting events. Eleven Chinese athletes managed to defend their titles from the 2008 Olympics, which China hosted; 18 of them won more than one Olympic medal in London. China also won its first ever Olympic medal in modern pentathlon.
Among the nation's medalists were Sun Yang and Ye Shiwen, who emerged as China's first swimmers to win two gold medals in their events; Sun and Ye broke a world record and an Olympic record respectively. Sun also dominated the nation's Olympic medal standings, winning four medals. Gymnast Zou Kai, who won two golds and one bronze in London, became the most successful Chinese athlete in history with a total of six Olympic medals. Springboard diver Wu Minxia became the first Chinese athlete to win a gold medal in a single event at three consecutive Olympic Games. Meanwhile, Chen Ruolin became the second diver in Chinese history to defend two Olympic titles at a single games, after Guo Jingjing did so in two springboard events in 2008.
Medalists
By chronological order
Multiple medalists
Comeback medalists
Successful defending champions are marked in bold.Medal distribution
By sport
By date
By gender
By dominance
;Won all gold medals in one sport – 2- Badminton – 5 golds
- Table tennis – 4 golds
- Badminton – Women's singles, also with fourth place
- Badminton – Mixed doubles
- Diving – Women's 3 metre springboard
- Gymnastics – Women's balance beam
- Table tennis – Men's singles
- Table tennis – Women's singles
- Weightlifting – Men's 77 kg
- Athletics – Men's 20 kilometres walk, also with fourth place
- Badminton – Men's singles
- Gymnastics – Men's trampoline
- Shooting – Women's 10 metre air rifle
- Swimming – Women's 400 metre individual medley
- Badminton – Singles
- Badminton – Doubles
- Diving – Synchronized 3 metre springboard
- Diving – Synchronized 10 metre platform
- Table tennis – Team
- Table tennis – Singles
Competitors
The Chinese team featured 29 defending champions from the Beijing games, including springboard diver Wu Minxia, light flyweight boxer Zou Shiming, gymnasts Zou Kai and Chen Yibing, and badminton player Lin Dan. Pistol shooter and former Olympic medalist Tan Zongliang, the oldest male member of the contingent, aged 41, competed at his fifth Olympic games. Meanwhile, fencer Li Na and basketball player Wang Zhizhi each made their fourth Olympic appearance. Trap shooter Liu Yingzi was the oldest athlete of the team, aged 41, while relay swimmer Qiu Yuhan was the youngest, aged 14. Basketballer Yi Jianlian, who had previously played for the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, was the nation's flag bearer at the opening ceremony.
The following table lists the number of Chinese competitors who participated in each Olympic sport. Note that swimming, synchronized swimming, diving and water polo are technically considered as one sport, aquatics. However, due to their significant practical differences, they are listed separately by tradition.
| Sport | Men | Women | Total |
| Archery | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Athletics | 30 | 28 | 58 |
| Badminton | 9 | 8 | 17 |
| Basketball | 12 | 12 | 24 |
| Boxing | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| Canoeing | 11 | 7 | 18 |
| Cycling | 5 | 10 | 15 |
| Diving | 7 | 5 | 12 |
| Fencing | 9 | 7 | 16 |
| Field hockey | 0 | 18 | 18 |
| Gymnastics | 7 | 8 | 15 |
| Judo | 1 | 7 | 8 |
| Modern pentathlon | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Rowing | 8 | 12 | 20 |
| Sailing | 5 | 4 | 9 |
| Shooting | 13 | 10 | 23 |
| Swimming | 24 | 27 | 51 |
| Synchronized swimming | 0 | 9 | 9 |
| Table tennis | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| Taekwondo | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Tennis | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Triathlon | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Volleyball | 2 | 14 | 16 |
| Water polo | 0 | 13 | 13 |
| Weightlifting | 6 | 4 | 10 |
| Wrestling | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| Total | 171 | 225 | 396 |
Archery
China qualified 3 archers for the men's individual event, 3 archers for the women's individual event, a team for the men's team event and a team for the women's team event.;Men
;Women
Athletics
Prior to the 2012 Olympics, Chinese athletes achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events :;Men
;Track & road events
;Field events
;Women
;Track & road events
;Field events
On 1 May 2013, the IOC stripped Russian discus thrower Darya Pishchalnikova of her silver medal in the women's discus throw after testing positive for Oxandrolone. China's Li Yanfeng was elevated to silver.
Badminton
China won 12 quotas with 17 athletes for the 2012 Olympics.;Men
;Women
;Mixed
Basketball
China's male and female basketball teams both qualified for the 2012 Olympic Games.;Roster
;Group play
Women's tournament
;Roster;Group play
;Quarter-final
Boxing
China qualified boxers for the following events in 2012:;Men
;Women
Canoeing
Slalom
China qualified boats for the following slalom events:Sprint
China qualified boats for the following sprint events:;Men
;Women
Qualification Legend: FA = Qualify to final ; FB = Qualify to final B
Cycling
China qualified the following cyclists for the 2012 Games:Road
Track
;Sprint;Team sprint
;Pursuit
;Keirin
| Athlete | Event | 1st round | Repechage | 2nd round | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Rank | Rank | Rank | Rank |
| Zhang Miao | Men's keirin | 6 R | 6 | Did not advance | 17 |
| Guo Shuang | Women's keirin | 1 Q | 3 Q |
;Omnium
Mountain biking
| Athlete | Event | Time | Rank |
| Tong Weisong | Men's cross-country | 41 | |
| Shi Qinglan | Women's cross-country | 1:35:28 | 12 |
Diving
The Chinese diving team qualified 12 divers across all diving events at the 2012 Olympics through the 2011 World Aquatics Championships.;Men
;Women
Fencing
China qualified 13 fencers for nine events at the 2012 Olympics.;Men
;Women
Field hockey
The Chinese women's hockey team qualified a team of 16 players for the 2012 Olympics, by virtue of winning the 2010 Asian Games hockey title.Women's tournament
;Roster;Group play
;5th/6th place
Gymnastics
A total of 15 Chinese gymnasts competed at the 2012 Olympics.Artistic
;Men's team;Men's individual finals
;Women's team
;Women's individual finals
Rhythmic
Trampoline
Judo
Eight Chinese athletes – one man and seven women – competed in the Olympic judo events.;Men
;Women
Modern pentathlon
Based on their results at the 2011 Asian/Oceania Championships, four Chinese pentathletes qualified for the 2012 games. Cao Zhongrong and Wang Guan earnt places in the men's event, while Chen Qian and Miao Yihua earnt places in the women's event.Rowing
;Men;Women
Qualification Legend: FA=Final A ; FB=Final B ; FC=Final C ; FD=Final D ; FE=Final E ; FF=Final F ; SA/B=Semifinals A/B; SC/D=Semifinals C/D; SE/F=Semifinals E/F; QF=Quarterfinals; R=Repechage
Sailing
China qualified one boat for each of the following events:;Men
;Women
M = Medal race; EL = Eliminated – did not advance into the medal race
Shooting
The following 23 quota places were qualified for the Chinese shooting squad at the 2012 Games:;Men
;Women
Swimming
Chinese swimmers achieved qualifying standards in the following Olympic events, and one at the Olympic Selection Time ):;Men
;Women
Synchronized swimming
China qualified a duet and a team. The team consisted of 9 athletes, 8 in action and 1 in reserve.Table tennis
China qualified four athletes for the singles table tennis events at the 2012 Olympics. Wang Hao and Zhang Jike qualified for the men's event, while Li Xiaoxia and Ding Ning qualified for the women's event.;Men
;Women
Taekwondo
China ensured berths in the following taekwondo events by reaching the top 3 of the 2011 WTF World Qualification Tournament:Tennis
Triathlon
China qualified the following triathletes for the 2012 Olympics:| Athlete | Event | Swim | Trans 1 | Bike | Trans 2 | Run | Total Time | Rank |
| Bai Faquan | Men's | 17:55 | 0:46 | 59:46 | 0:33 | 33:26 | 1:52:26 | 46 |
| Zhang Yi | Women's | 19:49 | 0:50 | 1:10:39 | 0:32 | 38:11 | 2:10:01 | 50 |
Volleyball
Beach
Indoor
China qualified a 12-person women's team for the indoor volleyball tournament.Women's tournament
;Team roster;Group play
;Quarter-final
Water polo
China qualified a 13-member women's water polo team.Women's tournament
;Team roster;Group play
;Quarterfinals
;5th-8th Place
;5th-6th Place
Weightlifting
China qualified 6 men and 4 women for the Olympic weightlifting competition.;Men
;Women
Wrestling
China qualified 8 quota places for wrestling at the 2012 games.;Men's freestyle
;Men's Greco-Roman
;Women's freestyle