The People's Republic of China, the previous host of the 2008 Olympics at Beijing, competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, the 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 88 medals – 38 gold, 27 silver, and 23 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. In the years after the Olympics, Russian track and field athlete Darya Pishchalnikova was disqualified for doping, bronze medalist Li Yanfeng was upgraded to silver. Fellow Russian Sergey Kirdyapkin was also disqualified for doping in the 50 kilometres walk, bronze medalist Si Tianfeng was promoted to silver; as well as another Russians Elena Lashmanova and Olga Kaniskina, Qieyang Shenjie and Liu Hong were promoted to gold and silver at the 20 kilometres walk, respectively, sixth placer Lü Xiuzhi was also promoted to bronze. Another Russian, silver medalist in the shot put, Yevgeniya Kolodko, was also found guilty for doping, Gong Lijao was promoted to silver and Li Ling to bronze, and Zhang Wenxiu was also promoted to bronze after the original winner in the hammer throw, Tatyana Lysenko was also disqualified.

Medalists

By chronological order

Multiple medalists

Repeat medalists

Successful defending champions are marked in bold.

Medal distribution

By sport

By date

By gender

By dominance

Competitors

The Chinese Olympic Committee selected a team of 396 athletes, 171 men and 225 women, to compete in 23 sports. Equestrian, football, and handball were the only sports in which China had no representation in 2012. 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.

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.

Athletics

Prior to the 2012 Olympics, Chinese athletes achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event at the 'A' Standard, and 1 at the 'B' Standard): 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 (an anabolic steroid). China's Li Yanfeng was elevated to silver.

Badminton

China won 12 quotas with 17 athletes for the 2012 Olympics.

Basketball

China's male and female basketball teams both qualified for the 2012 Olympic Games.

Men's tournament

Women's tournament

Boxing

China qualified boxers for the following events in 2012:

Canoeing

Slalom

China qualified boats for the following slalom events:

Sprint

China qualified boats for the following sprint events: Qualification Legend: FA = Qualify to final (medal); FB = Qualify to final B (non-medal)

Cycling

China qualified the following cyclists for the 2012 Games:

Road

Track

Mountain biking

Diving

The Chinese diving team qualified 12 divers across all diving events at the 2012 Olympics through the 2011 World Aquatics Championships.

Fencing

China qualified 13 fencers for nine events at the 2012 Olympics.

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

Gymnastics

A total of 15 Chinese gymnasts competed at the 2012 Olympics.

Artistic

Rhythmic

Trampoline

Judo

Eight Chinese athletes – one man and seven women – competed in the Olympic judo events.

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 earned places in the men's event, while Chen Qian and Miao Yihua earned places in the women's event.

Rowing

Qualification Legend: FA=Final A (medal); FB=Final B (non-medal); FC=Final C (non-medal); FD=Final D (non-medal); FE=Final E (non-medal); FF=Final F (non-medal); 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: 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:

Swimming

Chinese swimmers achieved qualifying standards in the following Olympic events (up to a maximum of 2 swimmers in each event at the Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT), and one at the Olympic Selection Time (OST)):

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.

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:

Volleyball

Beach

Indoor

China qualified a 12-person women's team for the indoor volleyball tournament.

Women's tournament

Water polo

China qualified a 13-member women's water polo team.

Women's tournament

Weightlifting

China qualified 6 men and 4 women for the Olympic weightlifting competition.

Wrestling

China qualified 8 quota places for wrestling at the 2012 games. Key: