Yang Yang: light the Olympic passion once again

Yang Yang became the Olympic flame torchbearer in the opening ceremony of Beijing 2022

"The Olympic Games is a stage for the athletes, as their fighting spirit will inspire more people to face challenges positively and work hard to solve difficulties, especially for kids who look up to athletes as role models."

Yang Yang, China's first-ever Winter Olympics gold medalist, who graduated from Tsinghua in 2007, is one of the most accomplished short track speed skaters of all time. Currently, she serves as the vice president of World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and chairperson of the Athletes Committee of the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee, busy assisting in organizing the Winter Olympics.

During her active years, Yang claimed her dominance with 59 world titles, including 6 consecutive Overall World Championships. At the 2002 Winter Olympics, she pocketed two gold medals in the Women's 500m and 1000m short track events, and also shared a silver medal in the 3000m relay, achieving a milestone breakthrough for both herself and China.

After her retirement, a feeling of loss struck her. “When I was an athlete, I had a clear goal, which was to stand on the world's highest podium. But then it disappeared, and I did hope to find something else to motivate myself in the future.”

Volunteering experiences in Africa have given her inspiration; when playing football with disabled children in Ethiopia, she was touched by their sincere love for sports, and realized the power of sports in youth development, which gradually led her to engage more in philanthropy empowered by the spirit of sport. Afterwards, she founded Champion Foundation to promote youth sports activities in schools and communities, and initiated the Feiyang Ice Skating Center in Shanghai.

"Sometimes opinions from the outside could be disturbing, yet I found that listening to the voice deep inside you is of utmost importance.”

Actively involved in sports organization at the same time, she was elected a member of the International Olympics Committee (IOC) in 2010, and became a council member for the International Skating Union in 2016. All these working experiences contributed to her participation in the Beijing Winter Olympics.

The bid for Beijing 2022 has been an especially unforgettable experience for her, as Yang was pregnant at that period. Her little daughter has accompanied her throughout the journey, including the reception of representatives from the IOC to inspect Beijing’s venues, as well as the delivery of a wonderful speech to bid for the Winter Olympic Games.

Shortly after the successful bid, Yang’s schedule became even busier as she worked to help prepare for and organize the games. As the chairperson of the Athletes Committee of the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee, she has made more than 40 proposals, ranging from preparing supplies for ensuring adequate equipment, to assisting to create the menus for the Olympic Village.

Despite the rapidly changing world nowadays, Yang believes hosting the Olympic Games will provide a spiritual motivation for humanity to work together and put the Olympic motto of "Together" into practice.

"As an Olympian and chairperson of the Athletes' Committee of Beijing 2022, I want to express that we are ready to welcome the best athletes from all over the world to meet in Beijing and light the Olympic passion once again," Yang says.

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TsinghuaRen｜Yang Yang: light the Olympic passion once again

Writers: Wong Rhui Poh, Liu Zhaoxi

Editors: John Olbrich, Liu Shutian

Designer: Bella Lim