Yang Wenjun (, born December 25, 1983, in Fengcheng, Jiangxi) is a Chinese former flatwater canoeist who has competed since the early 2000s, the gold medalists at two Olympic Games, he won the Canadian canoe C-2 500 m gold medal both in

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and

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

. As an Olympian and a competitive canoeist with master's degree graduated from Jiangxi Normal University, Yang officially announced his retirement at the 2009 National Games end, made a short time comeback for competing in the 13th National Games 2013. He won many medals in major international and domestic competition events, he was three gold and one silver medalists in two

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

; he participated in four National Games from 2001 to 2013, won four gold medalists in later three National Games. As Champions in two Olympic Games, Yang won much honour. He was the winner at the Best Group of CCTV Sports Personality Awards of Year 2008, the winner of the 2008 China Top Ten Benefiting Laureus Sports for Good.honours of Yang Wenjun
/ref> he also won the honor at the 2004 Top 10 Outstanding Youths of Jiangxi, the 2008 Top 10 Yichun People, the 2008 People Who Moved Fengcheng. Yang was selected the representative of 17th CCPC National Congress, he currently serves as the vice director, and a coach in Jiangxi Water Sports Administration Center on October 8, 2008, also the secretary of communist party committee.Jiangxi Water Sports Administration Center (2015-07-15): division of work at tasks of anti-corruption
/ref>

Career

Yang's first major international success came at the

2002 Asian Games The 2002 Asian Games ( ko, 2002년 아시아 경기대회/2002년 아시안 게임, Icheoni-nyeon Asia gyeonggi daehoe/Icheoni-nyeon Asian Geim), officially known as the XIV Asian Games ( ko, 제14회 아시아 경기대회/제14회 아시안 � ...

where, aged only 18, he won two gold C-2 medals with Wang Bing. At the 2003 world championships in Gainesville, USA he was the youngest of the individual C-1 1000m finalists, finishing a very creditable seventh overall. At the start of the 2004 season he formed a new C-2 partnership with the more experienced Meng, working under Canadian coach

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. On their first international appearance together in Komatsu, Japan, they shocked observers by posting a 500 m time of 1:40.27. Then, in June, they won the prestigious Duisburg World Cup. At the Olympic Games in Athens, they were drawn in the toughest heat alongside all the main medal contenders. They won the heat in a time of 1:38.916, almost a full second ahead of Cubans

Rojas Rojas is a surname found throughout the Spanish-speaking world, especially in Latin America. Rojas may refer to: People A *Adrián Rojas (born 1977), Chilean professional football player *Aguelmis Rojas (born 1978), Cuban long-distance runner ...

and Ledys Balceiro. The final was much closer with less than a second separating the first eight contenders but Meng and Yang again came out on top, beating the Cuban pair to win the gold medal. After the Olympics, Yang returned to the C-1. At the 2005 World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia he raced over all three distances, despite the new compressed schedule, and finished sixth (500 m), seventh (1000 m) and tenth (200 m). At the 2006 World Championships in Szeged, Hungary, Yang concentrated on the shorter distance events. He won the C-1 500 m bronze medal, China's first-ever men's world championship medal, and finished fifth in the C-1 200 m. Yang won another bronze in the C-1 500 m event at the following world championships in Duisburg. Meng and Yang defended their Olympic title four years later despite their boat capsizing at the finish line after their win. Yang is 177 cm (5'10") tall and weighs 77 kg (169 lbs).

References

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Sports-reference.com profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yang, Wenjun 1983 births Living people People from Yichun, Jiangxi Sportspeople from Jiangxi Chinese male canoeists Olympic canoeists of China Olympic gold medalists for China Olympic medalists in canoeing Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Asian Games medalists in canoeing Canoeists at the 2002 Asian Games Canoeists at the 2006 Asian Games ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in Canadian Medalists at the 2002 Asian Games Medalists at the 2006 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for China Asian Games silver medalists for China