Published : 05/06/2025

On June 5, 1994, the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing held a special gala to celebrate the 20-year career of China's renowned speed skater Ye Qiaobo (葉喬波).

At the end of the event, Ye stood up from her wheelchair, waved goodbye to the audience, and officially ended her athletic career.

Ye Qiaobo was born in Changchun, Jilin Province. She began training on ice at the age of 10 and went through many hardships during her athletic career, winning a total of 133 medals, including 23 gold medals in various world competitions.

For example, in the 1991 World Championships, she won her first 500-metre short track speed skating championship and came in 2nd in the 1,000-metre race.

In 1992, she competed in the Albertville Winter Olympics, where she faced off against the American legend Bonnie Blair in the women's 500-metre speed skating final and narrowly won the silver medal.

This American speed skating legend was a dominant force in the 1990s, almost invincible, having achieved five Olympic speed skating championships and three figure skating championships. She holds the record for the most Olympic gold medals by an American woman.

Although Ye Qiaobo only won two silver medals at the Albertville Winter Olympics, she made history by achieving China's first-ever medals in the Winter Olympics.

In the same year, at the World Sprint Speed Skating Championships in Norway, Ye won the women's 1,000-metre speed skating championship and the women's all-around world championship, becoming the first Chinese and Asian to win the sprint all-around world championship.

By the end of the 1993 spring competitions, Ye Qiaobo had won 14 world championships.

Unfortunately, her athletic career ultimately ended due to injuries. Years of intensive training had taken a toll on Ye Qiaobo's knees.

On February 7, 1994, just five days before the opening of the Lillehammer Winter Olympics, Ye Qiaobo received a call from a Canadian doctor who delivered bad news: her left knee patella was severely dislocated, and she had to stop competing and undergo immediate surgery.

Otherwise, there was a risk of permanent disability in her left leg.

Facing the tough choice between competing and surgery, Ye Qiaobo resolutely chose the former.

She painfully stood on the rink and, with extraordinary willpower, fought for a bronze medal for the Chinese team in the women's 1,000-metre speed skating event.

On June 5 of the same year, Ye officially retired from the rink due to her injuries.