(CFP)

Chinese speed skater Yu Jing broke the Women's 500-meter world record at the World Sprint Speed Skating Championships in Calgary, Canada, on January 29, 2012.

Yu, 26, who competed for China at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, clocked 36.94 seconds at this year's championships to become the first woman to break the 37-second barrier. The previous world record was set in December 2009 at Salt Lake City by Germany's Jenny Wolf.