Yang Jingru (speed skater) explained

Yang Jingru
Birth Date:2006 7, df=yes
Birth Place:Qitaihe, Heilongjiang, China[1]
Sport:Speed skating

Yang Jingru (; born 10 July 2006) is a Chinese speed skater who won the gold medal for short track speed skating at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics – Women's 1500 metres.[2]

Early life

Born in 2006 in Qitaihe city in Heilongjiang, Yang was raised by her grandmother as her parents worked away from home. She attended Changxing School in Qitaihe where she joined the school's skating team. Both her parents and grandmother were not supportive in her decision to do skating but due to her persistence, they agreed with her decision. She later trained at a short track speed skating school in Qitaihe.[1]

Sports career

On 18 December 2022, at the 3rd Russian–Chinese Winter Youth Games in Changchun, China, the Chinese team consisting of Yang, Sun Yiming, Pang Siyu, Hou Yuming and Wang Jiajing won first place in the women's 3000m short track speed skating relay competition.[3]

Yang won in the U-19 women's 1000m short track speed skating at the National Skating U Series Inter-school League which was held in Hulunbuir, China in February 2023.[4] On 5 March, she won the women's 1500m in the 2022-2023 National Short Track Speed Skating Youth Championship held in Qitaihe.[5] At the 15th Heilongjiang Provincial Games in April 2023, Yang won the gold medal for women's 1000m short track speed skating.[6]

In October 2023, she won the championship in the women's 1500m group A of the China Cup Short Track Speed Skating Elite League Youth Group in Qitaihe.[7] At the 14th Chinese National Winter Games taking place in Hulunbuir in January 2024, Yang won third place at women's 1500m with a time of a time of 2:29.103 and at the women's 3000m at the games, the Heilongjiang team consisting of Yang, Yan Tongyao, Lin Jingyi, Yang Jingru, Wang Kexin and Li Jing, won second place with a time of 4:18.422.[8] [9] In the group A of women's 1500m at the games, she won first place with a time of 1 minute 30.770 seconds.[10]

At the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics in Gangwon, South Korea on 20 January 2024, she won gold medal in the 1500m finals with a time of 2 minutes 33.148 seconds, which was the first gold medal won by a member of the Chinese sports delegation at the 2024 Youth Olympic Games.[11] On 21 January, in the 1000m finals at the games, Yang won silver medal with a time of 1 minute 40.996 seconds.[12] On 24 January, in the final of the mixed 2000m relay at the games, the Chinese team consisting of Yang, Li Jinzi, Zhang Baihao and Zhang Xinzhe won the gold medal with a time of 2 minutes 46.516 seconds.[13]

During the 1500 m race, Yang and her teammate Li Jinzi employed the so-called 'rabbit tactic'. Considered as a 'genius trick' by sports reporter James Dator of SB Nation, it involved Yang accelerating suddenly and swiftly gliding past all of her competition before she lapped the full field while in the remaining 10 laps she maintained her position in the back of other competitors. With the exception of Yang's teammate Li, all other competitors believed they had only one lap remaining when the last lap bell went off for Yang. Then the other competitors completed their penultimate lap, thinking that the race was over. At this point, while appearing to have stayed at the back of the pack, Yang actually finished first with her extra lap, and Li raced to finish second.[14] [15] The TikTok account of the International Olympic Committee posted the footage from the game, praising it for the "incredible strategy", with the video receiving a viewership of over 10 million.[16]

On 18 February, at the third ISU Junior Short Track Speed Skating World Cup in Heerenveen, Netherlands, she won first place with a time of 2:21.73.[17]

Other honors

On 25 April 2024, the Heilongjiang Federation of Trade Unions awarded her the 'Heilongjiang Province 1 May Labor Medal'.[18]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 杨婧茹:从"十四冬"站上世界大赛领奖台. iFeng. 7 March 2024. 27 May 2024.
  2. Web site: 孟 . 令丞 . 杨婧茹、李金恣专访:江原道冬青奥会的成绩是激励我们未来继续前进的动力 . olympics.com . Chinese.
  3. Web site: 第三届中俄冬季青少年运动会冰上项目结束 中俄运动员在赛场上为观众奉献精彩比赛. cnjiwang.com. 19 December 2022. 26 May 2024.
  4. Web site: 全国滑冰U系列中小学校际联赛(短道速滑)收官. Weixin. 19 February 2023. 26 May 2024.
  5. Web site: 全国短道速滑青少年锦标赛收官 黑龙江获4金1银3铜. Hjlnews. 2023. 26 May 2024.
  6. Web site: 黑龙江省第十五届运动会短道速滑比赛收官 七台河队领跑金牌榜. sport.gov.cn. 10 April 2023. 26 May 2024.
  7. Web site: 2023-2024 赛季中国杯短道速滑精英联赛(呼和浩特). chinacsa.net.cn. 2023. 26 May 2024.
  8. Web site:
    1. 十四冬#短道速滑青年组首金!
    . Weibo. Sina Snow and Ice. 12 January 2024. 26 May 2024.
  9. Web site:
    1. 十四冬# 短道速滑青年组女接成绩
    . Weibo. Sina Snow and Ice. 14 January 2024. 26 May 2024.
  10. Web site: 短道速滑——杨婧茹获青年组女子1000米冠军. Xinhua. 14 January 2024. 26 May 2024.
  11. Web site: 首金!杨婧茹获冬青奥会短道速滑女子1500米金牌. General Administration of Sport of China. 20 January 2024. 26 May 2024.
  12. Web site: 冬青奥会:短道速滑女子1000米李金恣摘金 中国队包揽金银牌. China.com.cn. 21 January 2024. 26 May 2024.
  13. Web site: 混合接力夺金 冬青奥会中国短道速滑队四金收官. Beijing Daily. 24 January 2024. 26 May 2024.
  14. News: Dator . James . This speed skater pulled off the most genius trick the Olympics have ever seen to win gold. 2 February 2024. SB Nation.
  15. Web site: Chapman . Simon . 'Left everyone bewildered': Speed skater's 'daring' tactic clinches gold, amasses 22 million views . Nine AU.
  16. News: Chinese teenage skaters' "rabbit tactic" goes viral . Xinhua . 4 February 2024.
  17. Web site: 中国队获得国际滑联短道速滑青年世界杯第三站比赛奖牌. National Business Daily. 19 February 2024. 26 May 2024.
  18. Web site: 祝贺!齐齐哈尔这些单位和个人获表彰. Sina. 28 April 2024. 26 May 2024.