Lang Ping Facts for Kids

In this Chinese name, the family name is Lang.

Quick facts for kids

Lang Ping

Personal information

Nickname

Iron Hammer (铁榔头/鐵榔頭)

Born

10 December 1960 (age 64)
Tianjin, China

Hometown

Tianjin, China

Height

1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)

Weight

71 kg (157 lb)

College(s)

Beijing Normal University
University of New Mexico

Volleyball information

Position

Outside hitter

Number

National team

1978–1985, 1990

China

Honours

Women's volleyball

Representing China
Olympic Games
Gold	1984 Los Angeles	Team
World Championship
Gold	1982 Peru
Silver	1990 China	Team
FIVB World Cup
Gold	1981 Japan
Gold	1985 Japan
Goodwill Games
Silver	1990 Seattle
Summer Universiade
Gold	1981 Bucharest
Asian Games
Gold	1982 New Delhi	Team
Silver	1978 Bangkok	Team

Lang Ping, also known as "Jenny" (born December 10, 1960), is a famous Chinese former volleyball player and coach. She was the head coach for both the Chinese and U.S. women's national volleyball teams. As a player, Lang was named the most valuable player (MVP) at the 1984 Olympics.

In 2002, Lang Ping was honored by being added to the International Volleyball Hall of Fame. She led the U.S. women's team to a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Later, she coached the Chinese women's team to a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. This made her the first person in volleyball history to win Olympic gold as both a player and a coach! Lang Ping is also a main character in the 2020 movie Leap.

Lang Ping's Early Life and Family
Lang Ping's Amazing Volleyball Career
- Winning Gold as a Player
- Lang Ping: A Chinese Sports Hero
Lang Ping's Coaching Journey
Awards and Achievements
- Individual Awards
- National Team Medals
Images for kids
See also

Lang Ping's Early Life and Family

Lang Ping was born in Tianjin, China. She was married to Bai Fan, a former Chinese handball player, from 1987 to 1995. They had a daughter named Lydia Lang Bai in 1992. Lydia also played volleyball and even played a younger version of her mother in the movie Leap. Lang Ping is now married to Wang Yucheng, who is a professor.

In 1987, Lang moved to Los Angeles with Bai to study and help coach volleyball at the University of New Mexico. She said she wanted to "taste a normal life" away from the spotlight. Even though she lived in the U.S. for many years, she has always kept her Chinese citizenship.

Lang Ping's Amazing Volleyball Career

Lang Ping was known as the "Iron Hammer" because of her powerful spikes. She was a key player for the Chinese national team.

Winning Gold as a Player

In 1984, her team won the gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, beating the United States.
She also helped her team win the World Championship in 1982 in Peru.
Her team won the World Cup titles in 1981 and 1985 in Japan.
She was the captain of the 1985 World Cup team and was named the most valuable player of that tournament.
Lang Ping was a star outside hitter and was named one of China's Top Ten Athletes every year from 1981 to 1986.

Lang Ping: A Chinese Sports Hero

Because of her important role in the success of the Chinese women's volleyball team in the 1980s, Lang Ping became a huge hero in China. She is one of the most respected people in modern Chinese sports history. Many remember her as one of China's first world champions.

Lang Ping's Coaching Journey

Lang Ping also had a very successful career as a coach.

Coaching the Chinese National Team (First Time)

From 1987 to 1989 and again from 1992 to 1993, she was an assistant coach at the University of New Mexico.
In 1995, Lang became the head coach of the Chinese national team.
She led them to a silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
Her team also took second place at the 1998 World Championships in Japan.
Lang Ping left the Chinese national team in 1998 due to health reasons.

Coaching in Italy and the USA

After leaving China, she coached in the Italian professional volleyball league. She won many awards there, including coach of the year multiple times.
In 1996, she was named the FIVB Coach of the Year.
In 2005, she became the coach of the U.S. National Team.
At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, her U.S. team played against China in her home country. The U.S. team won that match 3-2.
The match was so popular that 250 million people in China watched it on TV!
The U.S. team went on to win the silver medal at those Olympics, losing to Brazil in the finals.
Lang Ping decided not to renew her contract later that year. She wanted to coach a club team so she could spend more time with her family.

Coaching the Chinese National Team (Second Time)

In 2013, Lang Ping became the head coach of the China women's national volleyball team for the second time.
She led them to win the World Cup in Japan in 2015.
In 2014, she was the only female head coach among the 24 teams at the FIVB World Championship.
On August 21, 2016, Lang Ping guided the Chinese national team to the gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. This made her the first person ever to win an Olympic gold medal in volleyball as both a player (1984) and a coach (2016).
On September 29, 2019, her Chinese team won all eleven matches to defend their World Cup title. This made Lang Ping the first person to win back-to-back World Cup titles as both a player (1981, 1985) and a coach (2015, 2019).

Lang Ping's Coaching Teams

Club/Team	Country	Year
Chinese NT	China	1995 - 1998
Volley Modena	Italy	1999 - 2002
Asystel Novara	Italy	2002 - 2004
Pieralisi Jesi	Italy	2005
USA NT	United States	2005 - 2008
Telecom Ankara	Turkey	2008 - 2009
Guangdong Evergrande	China	2009 - 2014
Chinese NT	China	2013–2021