Tao Li

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Tao Li (b. 10 January 1990, Wuhan, Hubei, China - ) has represented Singapore in various international swimming competitions since 2005 and holds several national records in the sport. Among her many accomplishments, she is ranked the world's fastest swimmer for the women's short-course 100m butterfly event (as of 10 January 2009). At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, she became the first Singaporean swimmer ever to qualify for an Olympic final. She is currently being groomed to become the first Singaporean swimmer to bring home an Olympic medal at the 2012 London Olympics.

Early Life and Education
Tao Li was born in the city of Wuhan, in the Hubei province of China. The only child of Tao Ran and Li Yan, both swimming coaches, she showed a talent for swimming very early on. She started wading in swimming pools at the age of one and could swim 25m without her float by the age of five.

Her parents came to Singapore in January 2001 to look for work, bringing their 11-year-old daughter with them. In May 2001, her mother Li Yan began coaching at the APS Swim School founded by former national swimmer Ang Peng Siong while Tao returned to China with her father. Back in China, she joined the Hubei provincial swim team and was placed on the list of national swimming selectors.

Tao returned to Singapore at the end of 2003 and started school the following year as a Primary 5 student at Queenstown Primary School. Her parents wanted to give their daughter a chance to realise her sports potential, but knowing the short shelf life of athletes, they also wanted her to have a good education. So in 2006, she entered the Singapore Sports School, where she is currently receiving her secondary education in addition to sports training. She became a Singapore citizen the year before.

Competitive Swimming Career
Tao made her debut as a competitive swimmer in 2005, at the age of 15. Her small stature initially raised some doubts about how far she could go, but she has since stunned both her fellow Singaporeans and the international swimming community with her sheer talent and grit.

In her first year, she won eight gold medals and one bronze medal at two international competitions - the 1st Hong Kong Open Invitational Swimming Championships and the 23rd Southeast Asian Games in the Philippines. At the Hong Kong meet, she was also named the most outstanding female swimmer and overall women's champion.

She again made Singapore proud in 2006 when she won the country's first swimming gold in the Asian Games since 1982, and in 2007 when she became the first Singaporean female swimmer to reach the finals of the FINA world championships.

In 2008, when she became the first Singaporean swimmer to make it to an Olympic final, even Olympic gold medallist Libby Trickett took notice. Tao and Trickett competed in the 100m butterfly final and Trickett came in first. Although Tao finished fifth, Trickett had this to say about her opponent: "It is an amazing achievement for her to qualify for the final, considering this is her first Olympics. Sometimes, people underestimate how hard it is to get into the top eight at the Olympics. Obviously, she knows how to handle the pressure and she's got a bright future ahead of her."

Medals (Individual Events)
International

Local

Awards
Outstanding Female Swimmer and Women Overall Champion, 1st Hong Kong Open Invitational Swimming Championships 2005
Sportswoman of the Year 2007, Singapore National Olympic Council
Sportswoman of the Year 2008, Singapore National Olympic Council
Best Female Athlete (Senior) 2008, Singapore Swimming Association
The Straits Times Athlete of the Year 2008

Singapore National Records (Individual Events)
Open - Women

Under 17 - Girls

FINA World Swimming Rankings
At the time of writing, Tao is the only swimmer representing an Asian country in FINA's top 10 world rankings for the short-course 50m and 100m women's butterfly events. FINA (short for Fédération Internationale de Natation) is the international governing body of swimming, diving, water polo, synchronised swimming and open-water swimming.

Author
Valerie Chew



References
A world first for Tao Li. (2007, March 31). TODAY. Retrieved on March 7, 2011, from NewspaperSG.

Hong Kong Amateur Swimming Association. (2007, August 29). 3rd Hong Kong International Open Swimming Championships 2007. Retrieved January 21, 2009, from http://www.hkasa.org.hk/hkc07.pdf

Leong, C. (2007, March 3). Two women who don't know defeat. TODAY. Retrieved on March 7, 2011, from NewspaperSG.

Lim, H. M. (2008, August 13). What next for Tao Li? The New Paper. Retrieved January 20, 2009, from Factiva database.

Lim, L. (2006, December 10). From English lessons to swimming gold. The Straits Times. Retrieved on March 7, 2011, from NewspaperSG.

Our golden girls. (2008, August 13). The New Paper. Retrieved January 20, 2009, from Factiva database.

Pereira, M. (2009, January 30). Athlete of Year Tao Li inspired S'poreans. The Straits Times. Retrieved February 3, 2009, from Factiva database.

Raymond, J. (2007, June 9). Towering Tao Li breaks Li's reign. TODAY. Retrieved on March 7, 2011, from NewspaperSG.

Singapore National Olympic Council. (n.d.). Sportswoman of the Year. Retrieved January 20, 2009, from http://www.singaporeolympics.com/sportswoman_of_the_year.php

Singapore Sports Council. (n.d.). 15th Asian Games 2006: Our medallists. Retrieved January 21, 2009, from http://www.ssc.gov.sg/publish/teamsingapore/en/games/asian/2006/games_info/our_medalists.html

Singapore Sports Council. (n.d.). Our athletes - swimming. Retrieved January 20, 2009, from http://www.teamsingapore.com.sg/publish/teamsingapore/en/games/Olympics/Beijing2008/beijing_2008/our_athletes.detail.html?athleteID=1622

Singapore Swimming Association. (n.d.). Awards 2008. Retrieved January 21, 2009, from http://www.swimming.org.sg/awards_ssa2008.html

Singapore Swimming Association. (n.d.). 4th Singapore National Swimming Championships 2008. Retrieved January 21, 2009, from http://www.swimming.org.sg/swmcompetition_local-2008_SNSC.html

Singapore Swimming Association. (n.d.). Profile: Swimmers: Tao Li. Retrieved January 21, 2009, from http://www.swimming.org.sg/profiles/PROFILE-TaoLi.html

Singapore Swimming Association. (n.d.). 3rd Singapore National Swimming Championships 2007. Retrieved January 21, 2009, from http://www.swimming.org.sg/swmcompetition_local-2007_SNSC.html

Singapore's sporting achievements in 2008. (2008, December 30). The New Paper. Retrieved January 20, 2009, from Factiva database.

The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. (n.d.). Athlete biography - Tao Li. Retrieved January 20, 2009, from http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/BIO/Athlete/5/202345.shtml

Water babe on the boil. (2006, May 25). The New Paper. Retrieved January 20, 2009, from Factiva database.

Wong, J. (2008, November 23). Leaving friends, family behind. The Straits Times. Retrieved January 20, 2009, from Factiva database.


Further Readings
Foo, A. (2005, August 3). Tao Li looks like the next Joscelin. The Straits Times. Retrieved on March 7, 2011, from NewspaperSG.

Tao Li's size is no handicap: Thorpe. (2008, August 25). The New Paper. Retrieved January 20, 2009, from Factiva database.



The information in this article is valid as at 2009 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Personalities>>Biographies
Tao, Li, 1990-
Women swimmers--Singapore--Biography
Award winners--Singapore--Biography
Sports, recreation and travel>>Water sports>>Swimming