China’s First Gold Medal at the Olympic Winter Games

On February 16, 2002, Yang Yang (A) won the title in the final of the women’s 500 m short track speed skating at the Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games. This was the first gold medal at the Olympic Winter Games in the history of Chinese sports. A few days later, she won another gold medal in the 1 , 000 m event, being the first short track speed skater to win two individual gold medals at a single Olympic Winter Games.

Yang Yang (A) was born in Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China in 1975 , which is known as the land of ice and snow. She had been called “the heart of ice” by her family since she was a child and it seemed that she was destined to be a skater. When she was eight years old, a teacher from the amateur sports school in her hometown discovered her talent for winter sports, thus starting her life’s journey on the ice.

Yang Yang (A) made her Olympic debut at the Nagano 1998 Olympic Winter Games. As a talented and extremely diligent athlete, she had very high expectations for her performance on the track. However, she only won the silver medal in the 3 , 000 m relay at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games. This result was terrible for Yang Yang (A), because she had spent almost all of her time at the training ground, aiming to win the gold medal. Yang Yang (A) even considered quitting the sport, but she finally regained her confidence and continued her skating journey.

The memory of the Nagano Olympic Winter Games was very painful for Yang Yang (A), but she found a glimmer of hope from that experience. Later, she was surprised by her advancements in technicality and strength. She began to have new expectations for her new self, hoping to have a better performance at the next Olympic Water Games and she never lowered these requirements or expectations. During the next Olympic cycle, Yang Yang (A) swept the World Championships and the World Cup in preparation for the Salt Lake City Olympic Water Games, winning almost all of the individual gold medals.

However, the September 11 Attacks on New York in 2001 shocked the world and cast a shadow over the upcoming Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games. Yang Yang (A)‘s Olympic dream suddenly became uncertain. Yang Yang (A) and her teammates were shocked by such a tragic incident, which made them worry about whether it was safe to travel to the United States to participate in the Olympic Games. It was Yang Yang (A)‘s determination to win the Olympic gold medal that finally shook her out of the shadow of terrorism. The team arrived in Salt Lake City as scheduled and Yang Yang (A) battled for her Olympic dream once again.

The 2002 Olympic Winter Games proceeded as scheduled, but Yang Yang (A) was slow in getting into the groove on the Olympic stage. She even failed to own the podium in her favorite 1,500m race. Yang Yang (A) ranked fourth in the 1,500m final, which was another devastating blow for her. However, she didn’t lose her composure or confidence. Yang Yang (A) quickly re-adjusted herself to attend the next 500m final. She believed that the only way to get rid of bad luck was to never give up on new opportunities.

Finally, she did it! As Yang Yang (A) crossed the finish line, a new chapter was written for the Chinese history of the Olympic Winter Games. Yang Yang (A) won the first gold medal at the Olympic Winter Games in the history of Chinese sports, the champion of the women’s 500m final in Salt Lake City. Thegood news did not end there. She continued to make history in the women’s 1,000m final and won another gold medal. Yang Yang (A) also becomes the first short track speed skater to win two individual gold medals at a single Olympic Winter Games.

Yang Yang (A)’s dream came true through her sweat, tears, fear and most importantly, her perseverance and courage. Yang Yang (A) won 59 world championship medals in 34 competitions throughout her career as an athlete.

Yang Yang (A) retired in 2006 and then worked for the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, which further strengthened her connection with winter sports. After retiring, she joined the IOC Women and Sport Working Group soon afterwards and was nominated as a member of the International Olympic Committee in 2010. Inspired by the fact that some countries in the Middle East sent female athletes to the Doha Asian Games for the first time, Yang Yang (A) is committed to improving the status of women in sports and the opportunities for women in sports.

After being elected as the deputy chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency in 2019, she has been committed to protecting the purity of sports. She has emphasized the role of the World Anti-Doping Agency in preventing, educating and protecting the athletes many times.

Yang Yang (A) is also very concerned about the welfare of retired athletes. In 2011, she founded the Champion Foundation to provide vocational training opportunities and support for retired athletes. The foundation also promotes youth sports in schools and communities and has sponsored a skating college in Shanghai. As the current chairman of the Athletes’ Commission of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Yang Yang (A) is making unremitting efforts to let more people experience and fall in love with winter sports and other sports.

“Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games attaches great importance to the Athletes’ Commission. They have arranged specific tasks for us, which is a huge recognition for us. The Olympic Winter Games is centered around the athletes. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the athletes’ needs. The athletes’ opinions shall be considered in all aspects from the event organizer to the operator.” Yang Yang (A) said that, “The sudden COVID- 19 epidemic that started at the beginning of 2020 forced many sporting events and activities to terminate. During the past season, some winter sports have gradually resumed. It makes me surprised that most of the athletes maintain good physical conditions and are still full of passion. I believe that they must have overcome many difficulties. I am really proud of them.”

Björndalen's "Grand Slam"

Norwegian athlete Ole Einar Björndalen performed incredibly in Salt Lake City, winning gold medals in all four events of biathlon. Of course, he also created other impressive records. 

Björndalen was born on January 27, 1974 in Stranda, Norway. At the Lillehammer 1994 Olympic Winter Games, 20 -year-old Ole Einar Björndalen represented the Norwegian team in the relay race of biathlon, ranking seventh. He was suppressed by other stronger athletes at the Olympic Winter Games and no one discovered his talent.

Björndalen gradually revealed his talent at the Nagano 1998 Olympic Winter Games. He was the runner-up in the relay race and then won the title in the 10 km individual event. He won 2 medals in three competitions, including 1 gold medal. Once it had started, his medal-winning journey never stopped.

Let’s skip the “Björndalen Moment” at the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Winter Games. At the Turin 2006 Olympic Winter Games, Björndalen also won 2 silver medals (individual event and pursuit event) and 1 bronze medal in the mass start event. At the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, he won the silver medal in the individual event and the gold medal in the relay. The Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games was the last Olympic Winter Games of his career, in which he successfully ended with gold medals in the 10 km and mixed relay events. At this time, Ole Einar Björndalen had just celebrated his fortieth birthday. The Sochi Olympic Winter Games was the sixth Olympic Winter Games that he participated in and he had won medals at the Olympic Winter Games five consecutive times.

Björndalen also had extraordinary performances in other world competitions. Throughout his career, he won a total of 45 World Championships medals (including 20 gold medals); he once topped the overall scoreboard of the World Cup six times and won 19 championships in the competitions on branch sites. However, the Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games was the pinnacle of his career. In addition to all four events of biathlon, Björndalen even participated in the 30 km cross-country skiing competition and finished fifth place. Since Björndalen was a frequent athlete on the podium at that Olympic Winter Games, this result did not attract attention.

Björndalen first participated in the 20km event. He missed the target twice in the shooting. However, he easily won the title 36 seconds ahead of the runner-up, German athlete Frank Luck. Since the start of the World Cup season of the same year, he had failed to make a breakthrough in the 20 km event. However, this had little effect. Björndalen, who had already won the gold medal, began to make efforts to achieve his next goal: 10 km. At the end of the first lap, he was only in fourth place and it seemed that he was conserving his strength. After entering the second half of the course, he quickly caught up, took the lead and widened the gap between himself and the other athletes, thus finally defeating German athlete Sven Fischer with a clear advantage of 29 seconds. Finally, he won the gold medal with unassailable shooting and the best skiing results.

The victory in the 10 km event gave Björndalen a favorable position in the pursuit race held three days later. However, he was not satisfied with this. As the race progressed, he widened the gap from the runner-up to 43 seconds near the finish line and won the championship with an overwhelming advantage once again. French athlete Raphael Poiree was the runner-up, whose Norwegian wife, Liv Grete Poiree, also won the silver medal in the women’s 15km race. Ole Einar Björndalen undoubtedly made history by winning 3 gold medals in three events. No athlete had ever achieved such a result before.

Björndalen has many nicknames, such as “King of Biathlon” and “King Ole”. There is also a nickname “Cannibal”, which is quite appropriate combined with his performance in Salt Lake City. With 3 gold medals in hand, Björndalen was still hungry for more. In the relay race, he perfectly completed the anchor leg and won yet another gold medal. The other members of the Norwegian team were Halvard Hanevold, Frode Andresen and Egil Gjelland, who made many errors such as misses, falls, etc., and even broke the ski pole during the race. Nevertheless, they defeated Germany and France, and won the title. Björndalen, who won the “Grand Slam”, was undoubtedly the most successful athlete at the Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games.

On April 3, 2018, 44 -year-old Björndalen announced that he would retire. He won 13 medals at the Olympic Winter Games, including 8 gold medals, 4 silver medals and 1 bronze medal, during his career. Among them, 5 gold medals came from the individual events. With the results, he set a new record for the Olympic Winter Games. Björndalen is still the greatest biathlon athlete in history.

A group of Italian soldiers surrounded the United States figure skater Tenley Albright. Albright won the championship title of the women’s singles skating at the Olympic Winter Games with serious injuries to her right foot. After the competition, she graduated from Harvard Medical School and became a surgeon. 

American speed skater Jack Shea and Heine, the champion of the figure skating, were drinking tea on the sidelines.

Yang Yang (A) represented Chinese athletes to stand on the championship podium for the first time at the Olympic Winter Games.