Tao Li (Chinese: 陶李; pinyin: Táo Lǐ; born 10 January 1990) is a Chinese-born Singaporean competitive swimmer who specializes in the backstroke and butterfly.
Tao has represented Singapore at the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), the Asian Games, World Championship, Commonwealth Games and Olympics. She holds several national records and is the only female Singapore swimmer who qualified for an Olympic Final.
At the 2005 SEA Games in the Philippines, at just 15, she won 4 golds and a bronze. She reached the finals of the women's 50 metres, 100 metres and 200 metres butterfly events at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne though she did not win any medal. In December 2006, Tao won gold at the 50 metres butterfly in Doha's 2006 Asian Games, beating China's multi-gold medallist Xu Yanwei and breaking her own national record in the process. She was Singapore's most medalled athlete at the 2007 SEA Games in Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat), Thailand, winning four gold medals. Earlier in the year, she became the first Singaporean female swimmer to reach a FINA World Aquatics Championships final, finishing seventh in the 50 metres butterfly.
Tao made her Olympic début for Singapore at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. She qualified in the 100 metres finals, ranking fourth in the semifinals with a time of 57.54 seconds and setting two Asian records in two days. She thus became the first Singaporean swimmer to qualify in an Olympic final. She emerged fifth at the women's 100 metres butterfly finals with a time of 57.99 seconds.
- ^ Rohit Brijnath (11 August 2008), "Maybe, just maybe", The Straits Times (Sport), p. B13.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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