Yang Chuan-kwang facts for kids

CK Yang at the 1960 Olympics
Quick facts for kids Personal information
Born	(1933-07-10)July 10, 1933 Taitung County, Japanese Taiwan
Died	January 27, 2007(2007-01-27) (aged 73) Los Angeles, California, US
Height	186 cm
Weight	80 kg
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	Decathlon
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	HJ – 2.02 m (1956) PV – 5.00 m (1963) Decathlon – 8089/(9121) (1963)
Medal record Representing Olympic Games Silver 1960 Rome Decathlon Asian Games Gold 1954 Manila Decathlon Gold 1958 Tokyo Decathlon Silver 1958 Tokyo 110 m hurdles Silver 1958 Tokyo Long jump Bronze 1958 Tokyo 400 m hurdles

Yang Chuan-kwang, also known as C.K. Yang, was an amazing athlete from Taiwan. He was an Olympic decathlete, which means he was super skilled in ten different track and field events! C.K. Yang trained at UCLA in the United States. There, he practiced and competed with his friend and fellow Olympian, Rafer Johnson. Their coach was Elvin C. Drake.

Chuan-kwang at the 1960 Olympics

Early Life and Sports Beginnings

C.K. Yang was born on July 10, 1933, in Taitung County, which was then part of Japanese Taiwan. When he was young, he played baseball at the Taitung Agricultural School. His coach was Chen Keng-yuan, who was a former player for the famous Kano baseball team. This early experience helped him develop his athletic talents.

The "Iron Man of Asia"

Yang became known as the "Iron Man of Asia" because of his incredible strength and skill. He won the decathlon at the 1954 Asian Games and again at the 1958 Asian Games. At the 1958 games, he also earned other medals:

• Silver medal in the 110-meter hurdles
• Silver medal in the long jump
• Bronze medal in the 400-meter hurdles

At the 1956 Summer Olympics, he competed in the decathlon and finished eighth. He also took part in the high jump event.

Olympic Rivalry: Yang vs. Johnson

One of C.K. Yang's most famous competitions was the decathlon at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. It was a thrilling duel against his friend and teammate, Rafer Johnson. The lead in the competition kept changing between them.

After nine events, Johnson was slightly ahead. However, Yang was known to be better at the final event, the 1500-meter run. Their coach, Elvin C. Drake, reportedly gave advice to both athletes. He told Johnson to stay close to Yang and be ready for a fast sprint at the end. He advised Yang to create as much distance as possible between himself and Johnson before the final sprint.

In the end, Johnson ran his personal best time in the 1500m. He finished just 1.2 seconds slower than Yang. Johnson won the gold medal by a small margin of 58 points, setting a new Olympic record. Both athletes were completely exhausted after the race. They stopped past the finish line and leaned on each other for support. C.K. Yang made history by becoming the first Olympic medalist from his country.

Breaking World Records

C.K. Yang continued to achieve great things.

• In 1963, he set a new world indoor record in the pole vault in Portland, Oregon. He cleared a height of 4.96 m (16 ft 3.15059056 in) meters. This happened just one day after another athlete, David Tork, had set the record. Yang's record lasted only a week.
• Later that same year, Yang finally broke the decathlon world record. He took the record from his friend Rafer Johnson at the Mt. SAC Relays. Yang was the first person to score over 9,000 points under the old scoring system. When the scoring rules changed, his score was still the first to break 8,000 points under the new system. He is the only decathlete not from the United States or Europe to have held the world record.

Yang competed in the decathlon again at the 1964 Summer Olympics. He finished fifth, which marked the end of his competitive career as he was considered too old to compete at that level.

Life After Sports

After his amazing athletic career, C.K. Yang appeared in a few films. He was in Walk, Don't Run (1966) and the 1970 western There Was a Crooked Man... where he played a quiet inmate named Ah-Ping.

Yang also worked as a trainer and supervisor at the National Sports Training Center in Zuoying, Taiwan. He helped train other athletes like Ku Chin-shui and Lee Fu-an.

C.K. Yang was a member of the Amis, one of the native groups of Taiwanese aborigines. He was married to Daisy, an American Chinese American, and they had two sons, Cedric and C.K. Jr. He also had three grandchildren.

In 2001, while working as the president of the National Sports Training Center, Yang was diagnosed with liver cancer. He sadly passed away on January 27, 2007, after a major stroke. He is buried in Ventura, California.

See also

• Men's pole vault indoor world record progression
• Decathlon world record progression