Former athlete Li Ning will drop into the stadium from the sky
history
SENT TO BEIJING
Defining Li Ning starting with just one of the companies he has built would be an understatement. First of all, he is the greatest gymnast in Chinese history and is expected as a guest of the inaugural ceremony. At home he has three gold medals, two silver and one bronze medals won in a single Olympiad, the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Twenty-four years later, China obtained the organization of the Games for the first time. Who not to call but him as the last torchbearer to light the brazier? The choice would have been flawless, but it would have returned it to the oblivion of time. It goes differently, because the director of the opening ceremony, Zhang Yimou of «Red Lanterns», the same one who will direct the opening of the Winter Games tonight, thinks for him an entrance into the stadium from the sky, suspended from a system of ropes. The lord of the rings, of the horse and of the vault thus becomes the flying man forever in the sports imagination.
But even so enriched, her biography lacks a decisive chapter: the Li-Ning, with the dash in the middle. In English it means lining, a destiny that transforms them into an idea, perhaps so as not to get bored in the days of retirement: to found a sportswear brand and make it recognizable with a brand that recalls that of a giant in the sector (without advertising, Nike) . After his career as a champion, he begins his career as an entrepreneur. It’s 1990: Li is 26 years old and has a nose for business, allowed by Deng Xiaoping’s economic reforms. “There was no plan, it was just a matter of timing – he said in recent months -. After the 1988 Games (zero medals) I felt that my career had ended badly. The CEO of a famous Chinese soda brand asked me to be an ambassador for its products. Then I started to get involved in marketing ». One step at a time and Li-Ning is born, his inventor becomes a billionaire, fights against the giants, lands in the NBA and leaves the US market to focus on the East. “I saw the revolution in the world of sports shoes: at the beginning a model was good for many sports, now we need specific products for each discipline, from badminton to table tennis”. Today Li Ning is a wealthy entrepreneur and dispenses advice to young people: “Have a dream and the will to cultivate it.” Heard already, but it always works. –
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