Lin Li was born on January 28th, 1986. At the 2003 World Championships she had the second best score on bars with a 9.450 and the best Floor score with a 9.337. In the uneven bars final she finished fifth with a 9.350.
At the 2004 Olympics, China finished in a disappointing 7th place. Lin Li had only competed bars and had given her team their highest score with a 9.562. In the uneven bars final she had some issues and scored only a 9.200.
Her bars work was typical Chinese with pirouetting work linked to a piked Jaeger into an immediate Pak, all with beautiful form, plus she had a Markelov, rare for a Chinese gymnast.
She continued to compete after the Olympics, attending the World Cup Final that year. However by 2005 the majority of her competitions were at the domestic level and by 2006 she was retired.
By the time of Lin Li’s retirement, Daria Elizarova, who is five years younger (January 28th, 1991), was beginning her career at the junior level, she was the 2006 Junior European All-Around Champion.
However she was an alternate for the 2007 World Team and 2008 Olympic Team so she decided to switch nationalities and in the fall of 2010 she began representing Uzbekistan.
Her first competition with her new country was the 2010 Asian Games where she contributed on all events towards her country’s third place finish. Her 13.550 on bars and her 13.300 on Floor were the highest for her team. Individually she placed fourth all-around and on bars and 8th on Floor.
At the 2011 World Championships she was 48th in qualification and she was named as one of the two gymnasts attending the Test Event however the sole spot Uzbekistan got for London 2012 went to Luiza Galiulina.
With Oksana Chusovitina switching back to representing Uzbekistan in 2013 it was a given that no one but her would get the chance to compete in Rio 2016. So, in 2013, Daria went back to Russia and continues to compete nowadays however it is mostly at domestic or club competitions.
Her biggest assignments in the last few years have been the 2015 and 2017 Universiade where she did well taking team gold on both occasions as well as silver on Floor and bronze on vault in 2015
Gymnastics Cool Facts 