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Name: He Kexin 
Born: January 1, 1992 in Wuhan, Hubei province

Entry for Beijing Olympics: Uneven bars, women's team event

Major rivals: Nastia Liukin (US) and Ksenia Semenova (Russia) 

Career highlights: Winner, Doha and Cottbus stops, World Cup series; Winner, 2008 Chinese National Championships; Winner, 2007 Chinese City Games 

With her giggly personality and a dazzling smile, He Kexin looks like any other schoolgirl - until you see her in the gym. 

The 16-year-old newcomer to the national team has taken the gymnastics world by storm and holds the world record in the uneven bars.

The Wuhan native gave a sparkling performance at the World Cup Tianjin stop on May 14, scoring 17.200 points and breaking the previous record of 16.850 that she set at the Cottbus World Cup a month earlier.

 In Beijing, He will be aiming to win China its first uneven bars gold medal since the Barcelona Games in 1992 - the year that she was born.

'Many people say we are short of talent in the uneven bars or we are behind the Americans, but that's not true. I can't wait to go out and prove them wrong,' He told the South China Morning Post in Tianjin. 'The record that I set in the World Cup series came as a surprise to me also, but my priority is to score even higher at the Olympics.'

The Chinese have won the uneven bars at the Olympics only twice - Lu Li in 1992 and Yanhong at the Los Angeles Games in 1984.

'He Kexin has shown that China can produce a world-beating all-around team,' national team head coach Huang Yubin said. 'She is the best athlete on uneven bars I've seen in 20 years. The talent is there, now what we need to do is show her how best to manage it.'

He won her first national title at the Chinese City Games last year. She joined the national team a month after that success and Huang has tweaked her routine so that she is now among the world's best. This year, she won two legs of the World Cup series.

With a string of titles and high scores, He has sent a warning to her main adversary, American Nastia Liukin, who has won four world championship titles - three on the balance beam and one on the uneven bars.

'My target is to beat her at the Games,' He said. 'She is definitely one of the most talented gymnasts in the world, but I am confident that if I can perform at my best level I will beat her.'




No 17: He Kexin