2004

By the beginning of 2004, Lin Dan was already world number one at age 20. He started off the year by winning his first All England title by beating Peter Gade of Denmark. In May, Lin Dan played a major role in bringing the Thomas Cup back to China after a long domination by Indonesia.

2004年年初，年仅20岁的林丹就已经是世界排名第一的选手。他击败了丹麦选手彼得·盖德，以夺得自己第一个全英羽毛球公开赛冠军头衔开始了新一年的征程。五月，林丹作为重要一员帮助中国队夺得了汤姆斯杯，而此前这一赛事冠军已被印度尼西亚垄断多年。

2005

In May 2005, Lin Dan and his compatriots brought back the Sudirman Cup to China, where in 2003 they had lost to South Korea. In August, Lin Dan reached his first World Championship final, but lost to the talented Indonesian, Taufik Hidayat.

2005年5月，林丹和队友们一起夺回了两年前输给韩国队的苏迪曼杯。8月，林丹第一次跻身世锦赛决赛，但却输给了才华横溢的印度尼西亚选手陶菲克。

2006

In September 2006, Lin Dan won his first World Championship by beating fellow compatriot Bao Chunlai in a three game thriller. Subsequently, Lin Dan regained his world number one status which had been briefly occupied by Lee Chong Wei. Lin Dan lost once again to Taufik Hidayat, this time in the final of the Asian Games in Doha.

2006年9月，林丹在三局激战中击败了同胞鲍春来，获得了自己的第一座世锦赛冠军。接着，在被李宗伟短暂抢去了世界第一的位置后，林丹又再次夺回。不过他又一次倒在了陶菲克面前，而这回是在多哈亚运会的决赛场上。

2008

In the Olympic Games, Lin Dan was undoubtedly the local hero and heavy favourite. He faced teammate Chen Jin in the semi-finals and beat him handily in two sets. This vaulted him into the finals where he was set to meet Lee Chong Wei. The dream match had finally come as the World No. 1 and 2 were set to battle it out for badminton's most prestigious title. It was supposed to be a tough match for both players, but Lin Dan grabbed the gold as he overwhelmed the Malaysian in a one-sided two-setter 21–12, 21–8. Lin Dan thus became the first men's singles player ever to win the All England title, world championship title, and the Olympic gold medal.

2008 年北京奥运会上，林丹当仁不让成为了国家的英雄，为万众所喜爱。半决赛中，他直落两盘，轻松击败队友陈金。这让他得以与李宗伟在决赛上相遇。梦幻般的比赛终于到来，世界排名第一第二的选手将为争夺羽毛球运动中最具声望的冠军头衔而决一雌雄。人们原以为对于两位选手，这会是场艰苦的比赛，然而林丹却以 21-12和21-8这样一边倒的两局比赛彻底击垮马来西亚人，夺得了奥运会金牌。由此，他成为了第一位同时获得全英羽毛球公开赛冠军、世锦赛冠军和奥运会冠军的男单选手。

2010

Lin Dan finally snatched the only title missing from his international honor collection of badminton at the Guangzhou Asian Games. He roared with both fists high in the air after he won over Malaysia's world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei in the men's singles final late Sunday evening. "Super Dan" wrapped badminton Grand Slam!

2010年广州亚运会上，林丹终于囊获了他在各大国际赛事中唯一缺失的一个冠军头衔。在周日晚些时候进行的羽毛球男单决赛中，他击败了此前位列世界第一的马来西亚选手李宗伟，赛后林丹高举双拳大声咆哮。“超级丹”成就了自己在羽毛球界的全满贯!