Chinese Gymnast Will Compete For Fullerton

Li Xiao Ping, a member of the gymnastics team that won a silver medal for China in the 1984 Olympics, will join the Cal State Fullerton gymnastics team, becoming the first Chinese gymnast to compete for an American university, school officials have announced.

Robert Cowan, men’s program director for the U.S. Gymnastics Federation, the governing body of amateur gymnastics in the United States, said the announcement was an accomplishment for national collegiate gymnastics and for Fullerton Coach Dick Wolfe.

“It’s quite a statement for his program and for our country,” Cowan said. “His presence here will do a lot for the sport in this country.”

Wolfe said that Li’s presence will catapult the Titans into the upper echelon of NCAA men’s gymnastics. Known in international gymnastic circles as the Great Traveler for his graceful movements on the pommel horse, Li will compete for the first time as a Titan in the U.S. Gymnastics Federation Mixed Pairs Collegiate National Championships in Houston Dec. 13. His partner will be Tami Elliott.

Li’s first appearance in a team meet will be Jan. 10 in the Davis Invitational at UC Davis.

Li, 24, is a seven-year veteran of the Chinese national team and has received a perfect score of 10 on the pommel horse five times in international competition and scores of at least 9.8 in every other event. His best all-around score is 58.60. Jon Louis of Stanford won the 1986 NCAA all-around championship with a score of 57.60.

“This is the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to me as a coach,” Wolfe said. “There’s nothing else that compares.”

Through interpreter Lan Wang, a Fullerton graduate student from China, Li said that he came to Fullerton to pursue an education, and plans to return to China once it is complete.

“It was difficult to leave home and my teammates, coaches and family,” Li said. “I miss them very much. (But) my purpose to come here is to study physical education.”

The announcement ended eight months of correspondence and red tape that began when Lan,who was living with the family of Alex Omalev, former Fullerton basketball coach, asked Wolfe if he would offer a full athletic scholarship to such a gymnast.

“I said yes, but I didn’t take it seriously at first,” Wolfe said. “About a month went by when I got a call from a Chinese coach. I was sitting back with my feet up on my desk, reading the paper. He said, ‘Are you serious with your recruitment of Li Xiao Ping?’ I immediately sat straight up and became very alert.”

Wolfe said he spent much of the next few months meeting with Fullerton administrators and communicating by phone and mail with officials in China. “It took more red tape than you can imagine,” he said. “I felt a great responsibility. Here’s a young man I’m bringing in from another culture and taking away from his home and family. I wasn’t really sure what I was getting myself into or what I was getting him into.”

Li’s class load at Fullerton this semester includes four units of English as a second language and three of English writing for foreign students. He has also enrolled in ballet and athletic conditioning classes and receives a unit of credit for his participation in gymnastics.

Under NCAA rules pertaining to the age of athletes, Li will be eligible for only one season. Wolfe said that Li will be an assistant coach at Fullerton after competing, but added that one season is all Li will need to turn Fullerton into a national gymnastics power. The Titans finished eighth in the nation in 1976 and 1978, 10th in 1981 and ninth in 1985.

“What we’ve lacked is that one gun,” Wolfe said. “The years we’ve finished in the top 10 nationally, we did it without a star.”