Xiao Qin

Although a good all-rounder, Xiao Qin’s performances on the pommel horse stand out. Débuting on the national team in 1999, Xiao medalled in the pommel horse at the 2001 and 2002 World Championships, both times behind Marius Urzică. Considered a contender for the 2004 Olympics, he shared in the general malaise of the Chinese gymnastics team at those Games, falling during his qualification exercise, thus ruining his chances of a final spot. But Xiao came back stronger the following year, earning his first world title in Melbourne 2005, followed by more golds in 2006 and 2007. He completed his palmarès with an Olympic title, won in front of his home crowd in Beijing. Earlier, he had already won the team all-around competition with the Chinese squad, something he also had done at the 2003, 2006 and 2007 Worlds.