Home>News Center>Sports
         
 

Short track star Yang makes a graceful exit to future opportunities
(AP)
Updated: 2006-02-24 14:33

TURIN, Italy (AP) _ For months, Chinese speedskater Yang Yang said all she wanted was to savor the final Olympics of her career and ignore the pressure to repeat her double gold-medal performance at the last games.

yang yangFacing a medal-free run in Turin with her last Olympic race on Saturday, the short track speed skater is making a graceful exit from competition. She'll return to China, to her agent, a luxury car, several apartments and new opportunities.

"There's no need to talk about major regrets," Yang said after the Chinese team was disqualified when a teammate bumped a Canadian skater in the 3,000-meter relay. "For me, from training through competition, everything went smoothly."

Yang is a rare figure in the Chinese sports world, one that shows how fast the industry is changing. Poised, smiling in public and possessed of surprisingly fluent English, Yang is a new breed of sports star: popular, personable and marketable.

"There are probably 10 athletes in China today who would offer endorsement value to brands" and Yang is among them, said Terry Rhoads, general manager for Zou Marketing Inc., a Shanghai-based sports consultancy.

Yang, who turns 30 in August, has been vague about her plans, other than to say she'll finish an economics management degree at Tsinghua University in Beijing and won't leave the world of sports.

Olympic champions don't generally have the cache of professional athletes, given that the Olympics are held once in four years, and short track speed skating is hardly popular.

She won't approach the commercial power of Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets, who gets about US$3 million (euro2.5 million) a year in endorsements, said Rhoads.

In a sports industry that Chinese sports officials estimate has grown to $10 billion (euro8.4 billion) annually from almost nothing a decade ago, Rhoads said Yang should be able to find a comfortable spot, especially if she can win a gold medal in Turin.
Page: 12



Selected Reuters Winter Olympics Games pictures on Feb. 23
Women's figure skating
Figure skating champion in Salt Lake Games
 
  Today's Top News     Top Sports News
 

Housing, education and jobs top urbanites' worries

 

   
 

US plans more WTO cases against China

 

   
 

China joins Russia in Iran diplomacy

 

   
 

Roof collapse in Moscow kills at least 56

 

   
 

Grain consumption to outpace output

 

   
 

China approves second maglev line - report

 

   
  Han makes history with aerials gold
   
  Leaders tumble, and Arakawa wins Gold
   
  Marseille blunt Bolton, Roma through in UEFA Cup
   
  Ding leads China Open campaign
   
  Tiger finishes off Ames at match play
   
  China open up Asian Cup qualifiers with 2-0 win
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
Manufacturers, Exporters, Wholesalers - Global trade starts here.
Advertisement