(LIAO YUJIE)

Chinese athlete Li Yanfeng won the gold medal in the women's discus final at the 2011 International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, on August 28. She became China's first world champion in the event with a throw of 66.52 meters.

Success didn't come to Li easily. The 32-year-old was selected for China's national team in 2003 but only placed ninth in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games due to a serious cold. In 2005, Li suffered a serious injury to her right wrist, almost ending her career. She resumed throwing the discus at the end of 2006. Since 2007, her fortunes began to improve as her injury recovered and she improved her technique. She finished third at the 2007 National Championships and became champion at the 11th National Games in 2009.

Li is now training for the 2012 London Olympic Games and is quite confident of achieving a good result.