(ZHANG ZHEN)

Former Olympic champion skater Yang Yang has been elected a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). She is the fourth IOC member from the Chinese mainland.

Known as "Queen of Short Track," Yang was China's first ever winter Olympic title winner, taking the gold medals in the women's 500-meter and 1,000-meter short track speed skating at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City.

Throughout her skating career, Yang won a total of five Olympic medals, including two silvers and a bronze, as well as 59 world titles. She retired from the sport in August 2006.

Yang has been engaged in international sports organizations since 1999, when she was elected on to the Athletes' Committee of the International Skating Union. In 2003, she became a member of the Athletes Committee of the World Anti-Doping Agency. In 2006, she joined the IOC Women and Sport Committee.