Shandong is a front-runner in competitive sports in China. By the end of 2018, athletes from Shandong had won 23 Olympic gold medals, 181 gold medals of the Asian Games and 376 gold medals of the National Games.

Fitness-for-All programs have been steadily improved. By the end of 2018, public fitness centers had been built in all 16 prefectural cities. The coverage of large and medium-sized county-level public fitness centers reached 96%. The coverage of indoor and outdoor fitness facilities in towns, townships and sub-districts stood at 83%. The coverage of fitness venues was 90% in administrative villages. The average area of sports fields per person in Shandong hit 1.8 square meters.

The sports industry has developed healthily and rapidly. By the end of 2017, the output created by the sports industry reached 234.801 billion RMB yuan with an added value of 77.041 billion RMB yuan, accounting for 1.06% of Shandong’s total, both ranking fourth in China.