Zhou Yang

weibo.com/zhouyangmiemie

When and where did you begin this sport?	She began skating in 1999 in Changchun, People's Republic of China.
Club / Team	Jilin Province: Changchun, CHN
Name of coach	Kim Sun-Tae [national], KOR
Reason for choosing this sport	Her parents encouraged her to take up a sport in order to improve her health after undergoing surgery at age four. Her father bought her roller skates at age eight, and she was later scouted by coach Cui Shunz who encouraged her to train in speed skating. She switched to short track on the insistence of her father who didn't want her training at the outdoor rinks used for speed skating.

Ambitions	To compete at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. (sports.sina.com.cn, 09 Mar 2020)
Nicknames	Baa Baa, Talent Girl (Weibo profile, 28 Aug 2015; lifeweek.com.cn, 27 Feb 2014)
Hero / Idol	Chinese short track skater Yang Yang [A], US basketball player Stephen Curry. (Athlete, 15 Nov 2019, 09 Nov 2017)
Awards and honours	She was flag bearer for the People's Republic of China at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. (OIS, 09 Feb 2018) In 2014 she was named an Elite Athlete of International Class by the General Administration of Sport of China. (sport.gov.cn, 30 Oct 2018) In 2014 she was named an Excellent Athlete by the Jilin provincial government in the People's Republic of China. She was also presented with the May 4th Youth Medal in the same year. (chinajilin.com.cn, 15 Jul 2014) In recognition of her performance at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, she was presented with the Sports Medal of Honour and was named one of the Top Ten Outstanding Women in Changchun, People's Republic of China. (sohu.com, 07 Apr 2010) In 2010 she received a Merit Citation Class Two from the Jilin provincial government in the People's Republic of China. (news.sohu.com, 10 Apr 2010)
Injuries	She injured her foot in a mid-race collision at the 2011 World Cup event in Salt Lake City, UT, United States of America. (sportscn.com, 23 Oct 2011)
Most influential person in career	Coach Li Yan. (Athlete, 09 Nov 2017)
Sporting philosophy / motto	"Seize the moment, and take every step with the heart." (Athlete, 09 Nov 2017)
Memorable sporting achievement	Winning gold in the 1500m and the 3000m relay at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. (Athlete, 15 Nov 2019)
Other information	OTHER ACTIVITIES In 2019 she was named the representative for short track on the Athletes' Commission for the International Skating Union [ISU]. She is due to serve on the committee until 2023. (chinanews.com, 16 Jan 2019; isu.org, 14 Jan 2019)
Other sports	She represented the People's Republic of China in short track between 2006 and 2018, winning a total of three gold medals at the Olympic Winter Games. She made her World Cup debut in speed skating in 2019 in Minsk, Belarus. (SportsDeskOnline, 22 Nov 2019)