A newspaper covers Chen Ruolin (upper left) and Huang Xu (lower left) wining gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. [Photo/ntfabu.com]

Today (Aug 12) marks the 12th Nantong Sports Day. Since 2009, sports departments and related organizations in Nantong have held an annual series of citywide fitness events to celebrate. 

The concept of "Nantong Sports Day" was initiated by Jianghai Evening News during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, when three athletes from Nantong each won a gold medal on Aug 12, 2008.

That day, at noon, Huang Xu and his five team members took the lead as they won the team gold in men’s gymnastics after more than two hours of fierce competition. Following Huang's achievement, Chen Ruolin was crowned the women's 10 meters platform diving championship in the afternoon. At about 8:25 pm that day, Zhong Man won China's historic first men's fencing Olympic title.

Three Olympic gold medals in one day. It was not only the best performance for Nantong athletes, but also set a new record among cities in China to win the most Olympic titles in a single day.

As celebrations were held across the city, voices also arose to set Aug 12 as the Nantong Sports Day to commemorate the achievements and spark local interest in sports.

The proposal was passed by the standing committee of the Nantong People's Congress on Aug 27, 2008.

As early as 1992, Nantong athletes have taken the spotlight at international games.

At the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, Lin Li won a gold medal and set a world record in the 200-meter individual medley, becoming China's first world champion in swimming.

Lin is the first Nantong local to take an Olympic title. Since then, athletes from Nantong have made a special contribution to China's rising fame in international sports.