Athlete profile: Li Jiajun

Posted: Tue February 3, 1998 at 5:00 PM ET

Athlete notes

The only Chinese male short track skater to have also competed in Lillehammer, Li hopes that his disappointments there can propel him to greater success in Nagano...he was disqualified in the quarterfinals of both individual races..."I was too young," says Li. "That is the reason for my disqualification. But, I am sorry to say that there was a referee from America also who made unfair decisions"...all U.S.-China rivalry aside, Li admits that, "In the last Olympics, the Chinese men were not very strong"...Li hopes to recapture the results of his 1996-97 season, where he finished second overall for the season, and won the 1,000m at the '96 World Championships...at the same time, he will attempt to avoid his poor showing at the '97 Worlds on the same Nagano White Ring that will host the Olympic short track competition...after the Worlds, where Li "just didn't skate well," he took a twenty day holiday to recuperate and visit his family, which he is unable to do during a normal year...they live in Changchun, a city of 1.5 million people that is a winter sports hotbed in China...his parents are both retired -- his father used to work in a car factory while his mother worked in a store that sells radios...Li has a younger brother who is currently studying mathematics at a university...Li started out as a figure skater..."When I was nine years old I was selected to start figure skating," says Li of his rather genteel beginnings. "After a year I was changed to speed skating. I was a little bit fat and did not have a good build for figure skating. Now, I am not so fat, but I am strong"...he is considered one of the most physically strong skaters on the Chinese team -- "I do a lot of weight training," says Li...his strength helps him to a good start in his best Events -- the 500m...in terms of his skating technique, Li believes his best attributes are his "skating in the corner" (turns) and his passing...in what he considers his last Olympic opportunity, Li is going to concentrate "50/50 on the 500m and 1,000m"...he also has been training hard for the relay...Li plans to skate for at least a few more years but notes that, "it depends on my body condition"...Li is his family name, Jiajun is his given name, and Chinese custom places the family name first...he likes basketball and says that the entire Chinese team likes watching the two-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls play...he also plays soccer in his free time...Li sports a gold chain because "gold is for good luck"...Li does not speak English...