Li Yan (speed skater)
Li Yan (born September 18, 1968) is a Chinese speed skater and short track coach who also competed in the Winter Olympics for China. In 1988, when short track was a demonstration sport in Calgary, she won the 1000m and finished third in the 500m and 1500m. In 1992, when short track became an official Olympic event in Albertville, she won a silver medal in the 500m and the Chinese relay team finished eighth.
After retiring, she studied international finance in Dalian and briefly worked for the tax bureau. She began coaching abroad: Slovakia (2000–2002), helping them reach the 2002 Winter Olympics, then an Austrian club in Vienna, and finally the United States as a Short Track Development Coach in 2003 and later U.S. National Team Coach. In 2005 she was named U.S. Speedskating Coach of the Year.
In 2006 Li Yan returned to China as head coach of the national short track team. She helped develop stars like Wang Meng and Zhou Yang. At the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Wang won gold in the 500m and 1000m, Zhou Yang won gold in the 1500m, and China won the 3000m relay after Korea was disqualified. The team swept all four events, making Li Yan the most decorated Chinese coach at a single Olympics. She renewed her four-year contract in May 2010. In 2014 it was announced she would remain head coach through the Pyeongchang Games.
Li Yan was born in Dalian, Liaoning, and moved at age two to Heilongjiang, where her father worked as a military officer. She trained in speed skating from a young age. She is married to Tang Guoliang, has one daughter, and has lived in Colorado, moving back to China in 2010.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 08:03 (CET).