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Effective January 2020, Yang Yang commenced in her role as Vice President of WADA.
Yang Yang won two gold medals and a silver for short track speed skating at the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City – the first gold medal being China’s first ever in a Winter Olympics. She also won silver at the 1998 Olympic Games in Nagano; a bronze at the 2006 Games in Turin; and, 28 gold medals at World Championships between 1997-2005. In total, Yang Yang collected 59 world titles throughout her professional career and is the winner of the most world titles in China.
Yang Yang has also had a distinguished career in sports administration. She was a member of WADA’s Athlete Committee from 2003-2013; and, a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 2010-2018; after which, she was appointed IOC Marketing Commission member. In 2006, she was elected a member of the Executive Committee of the Chinese National Olympic Committee; and, in 2010, Vice-Chair of the Chinese Youth Federation. She is a global ambassador for the Special Olympics; and, founding member of the Chinese Athlete Education Foundation. In 2014, she became Chair of the IOC Evaluation Commission for the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games; and, in 2016, she was elected as the first female Speed Skating Council member for the International Skating Union in its over 100-year history. And, in 2017, she was appointed Chair of the Athlete’s Commission for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
In 2009, Yang Yang established the China Champion Foundation, which focuses on sports education for children and career development for retired athletes; and in 2013, she founded the Fei Yang Skating Academy in Shanghai, a professional facility built to promote ice sports in China. Since founding the Academy, it has trained thousands of children -- several that have gone on to be selected for China’s junior team.
Yang Yang was born in 1976 in Jiamusi, Heilongjiang (China); and, graduated in 2007 with a degree in business administration from Tsinghua University’s School of Economics and Management.
