Yang Sansheng

Yang Sansheng
Personal information
Full name楊三生
Yang Sansheng
NicknameSansheng
National team China
Born
Jiexi, Guangdong, China
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesBackstroke
Medal record
All China Games
Silver medal – second place1959 Beijing100m backstroke
Silver medal – second place1959 Beijing200m backstroke
Silver medal – second place1965 Beijing100m backstroke
Silver medal – second place1965 Beijing200m backstroke
Gold medal – first place1965 Beijing4×100m medley relays
Chinese National Swimming Championships
Gold medal – first place1960 Chengdu100m backstroke
Gold medal – first place1960 Chengdu200m backstroke
Bronze medal – third place1960 Chengdu4×100m medley relays
Gold medal – first place1962 Nanning100m backstroke
Gold medal – first place1962 Nanning200m backstroke
Gold medal – first place1962 Nanning4×100m medley relays
Other National Games
Gold medal – first place1961 China's National Swimming Division Championship100m backstroke
Gold medal – first place1961 China’s National Top Swimmers Competition4×100m medley relays
Gold medal – first place1963 Beijing Best Swimmers Exhibition Game200m backstroke
Gold medal – first place1963 First Games of the New Emerging Forces Trial100m backstroke
Gold medal – first place1963 First Games of the New Emerging Forces Trial200m backstroke
Gold medal – first place1963 China’s National Best Swimmer Game100m backstroke
Silver medal – second place1963 China’s National Best Swimmer Game200m backstroke
World Championship
Gold medal – first place1961 China-Czech Swimmer Friendly Game100m backstroke
Gold medal – first place1961 China-Czech Swimmer Friendly Game4×100m medley relays
Gold medal – first place1963 First Games of the New Emerging Forces (Jakarta, Indonesia)100m backstroke
Silver medal – second place1963 First Games of the New Emerging Forces (Jakarta, Indonesia)200m backstroke
Gold medal – first place1963 First Games of the New Emerging Forces (Jakarta, Indonesia)4×100m medley relays
Gold medal – first place1964 Championship of the New Emerging Forces (Jakarta, Indonesia)100m backstroke
Gold medal – first place1964 Championship of the New Emerging Forces (Jakarta, Indonesia)200m backstroke
Gold medal – first place1964 Championship of the New Emerging Forces (Jakarta, Indonesia)4×100m medley relays
Yang Sansheng
Traditional Chinese楊三生
Simplified Chinese杨三生
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinYáng Sānshēng

Yang Sansheng (simplified Chinese: 杨三生; traditional Chinese: 楊三生; born in October 1941) is a retired Chinese swimmer.

Yang was active in the national and international swimming games in 1950s and 1960s, specializing in backstrokes. He broke the national record of the male's 100m backstroke, which had been held by Wu Chuanyu for eight years.[1] Yang was also the national champion and record holder of 100m and 200m backstroke. He earned many medals and trophies for China in various international competitions. In the First Games of the New Emerging Forces, Yang won three championships for China.

In 1969, Yang was invited to serve as coach for Chinese National Swimming Team. He served successively as deputy and then head coach, mentoring Chinese athletes in international competitions.

Early life

Yang Sansheng was born in a small village in Guangdong, China, where he enjoyed having fun in rivers and ponds when he was little. In 1956 when he was 15 years old, Yang won the first prize of 100m freestyle swimming competition in his hometown. This championship showcased his potential in competitive swimming and also encouraged him to become the swimming champion. In 1956, Yang was admitted into the swimming program offered by the local amateur sports school. In 1958, Yang was the top 6 in China's provincial swimming championship and then won the national student aquatic championship. In October 1958, Yang was recruited into the Guangdong Provincial Swimming Team for a professional swimming career.

Swimming career

In 1959, Yang won the champion of men's backstroke of Guangdong Provincial Swimming Championship with a record of 1′10″9, and was selected to Chinese National Swimming Team later in December.[2] Afterwards, Yang focused on the 100m and 200m backstroke, actively performed in various national and international competitions, and remained as the national record holder for a long time. On October 23, 1962, Yang broke the record of 1′8″4 in 100m backstroke held by Wu Chuanyu for eight years, with a new record of 1′5″8 in the Chinese National Swimming Championships (Nanning).[3] This champion brought Yang a well-known reputation after wide coverage by numerous national media. In 1963, Yang won the champion of 100m backstroke and another gold medal of 4 × 100 m medley relays with other team members in the First Games of New Emerging Forces in Jakarta, Indonesia.[4]

Coaching experience

Yang integrated practices with theories. In July 1962, he published a paper “On Backstroke Technique” (《淺談仰泳技術》) about backstroke in a Chinese Magazine “Sports”, resulted in a revolutionary improvement of the backstroke skills in China. Later in 1969, Yang became coach for Chinese National Swimming Team. In 1973, Yang visited Yugoslavia for a friendly tournament as deputy coach of the Chinese National Team of Swimming and Diving. Later, as coach of the Chinese National Swimming Team, he attended the 7th Asian Games in 1974 and Beijing International Swimming and Diving Invitational in 1975. In February 1984, Yang attended as head of Chinese National Swimming Team to 13th National Olympic Committee International Swimming Festival in Berlin, Germany. In April 1984, Yan Hong, an apprentice of Yang, won champions of several events in the 2nd Asian Swimming Championship in South Korea.

Major achievements

YearGamesEventsTimePlaceNote
1959First National Games of the People's Republic of China (Beijing)100m backstroke1′11″56th
4 × 100 m medley relays4′28″22nd
Guangdong Provincial Autumn Swimming and Diving Championship100m backstroke1′10″91st
200m backstroke2′37″21st
4 × 100 m medley relays4′34″31st
1960China's National Best Athletes Spring Swimming and Diving Championship100m backstroke1′9″86th
200m backstroke2′35″53rd
Chinese National Swimming Championships (Chengdu)100m backstroke1′8″1st
200m backstroke2′29″51st New national record
4 × 100 m medley relays3rd
China-Czech Swimmer Friendly Game100m backstroke1′8″81st
4 × 100 m medley relays4′19″91st New national record
1961China's National Swimming Division Championship (Beijing Division)100m backstroke1′7″91st
China's National Top Swimmers Competition4 × 100 m medley relays4′17″31stNew national record
1962Chinese National Swimming Championships (Nanning)100m backstroke1′5″81stNew national record
200m backstroke2′30″21st
4 × 100 m medley relays4′15″51stNew national record
1963Beijing Best Swimmers Exhibition Game200m backstroke2′28″81stNew national record
First Games of the New Emerging Forces Trial (Beijing)100m backstroke1′5″71stNew national record
200m backstroke2′27″1stNew national record
First Games of the New Emerging Forces (Jakarta, Indonesia)100m backstroke1′7″41st
200m backstroke2′30″82nd
4 × 100 m medley relays4′15″61st
China's National Best Athletes Swimming Game100m backstroke1st
200m backstroke2nd
1964Labor Day Swimming Exhibition Game(Beijing)100m backstroke1′4″7New national record
200m backstroke2′26″9New national record
Championship of the New Emerging Forces (Jakarta, Indonesia)100m backstroke1′5″81stNew national record
200m backstroke2′27″51stNew record
4 × 100 m medley relays1st
Third Guangdong Provincial Sports Game100m backstroke1′7″51st
200m backstroke2′29″21st
1965Second National Games of the People's Republic of China (Beijing)100m backstroke2nd
200m backstroke2nd
4 × 100 m medley relays4′13″1stNew national record

Personal best

Event Time Venue Date Note(s)
100 m backstroke 1′4″7 Beijing May 1964 National record
200 m backstroke 2′26″4 Beijing 27 March 1965 National record
4×100 m backstroke 4′13″ Beijing September 1965 National record

In the 100m backstroke, Yang broke the record held by Wu Chuanyu in 1962, and then renewed his own record twice in the following two years.[5]

For the 200m backstroke, Yang broke the national record, which had been kept for three years, and then renewed his own record four times in the following five years.

Apart from his personal performance, Yang also made achievements in the event of 4 × 100 m medley relays. From 1960 to 1965, Yang, as well as his team members, broke the national records four times in various competitions.

In addition to national records, Yang also beat the record of 200m backstroke, and renewed his own personal best of 100m backstroke in Championship of the New Emerging Forces in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 1964.

Others

On October 23, 1962, Yang broke the national records of men's 100m backstroke held by Wu Chunyu, attracting attention from many media in China. The media reported that this record completed the goal set by Chairman Mao, who was a fan of swimming and once requested athletes to “learn from Mr. Wu and outperform Mr. Wu”.[6]

Later on, Yang brought back the champions of 100m backstroke and 4 × 100 m medley relays from the First Games of the New Emerging Forces (Jakarta, Indonesia), spreading his reputation around China. Many media reported: with his morale and faith, Yang became the grand master of backstroke in China.

In June 2014, China's People's Publishing House published a book “Yang Sansheng, A Legendary Swimmer” 《楊三生:一個人的泳壇傳奇》 telling the life experiences and reflections of Yang.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "揭秘泳坛黑马传奇:透视生命强者价值_体育_腾讯网" (in Chinese). Sports.qq.com. 2014-08-11. Retrieved 2017-04-08.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ "書介:楊三生:一個人的泳壇傳奇 - 香港文匯報" (in Chinese). Paper.wenweipo.com. 2014-09-01. Retrieved 2017-04-08.
  4. ↑ "体育志" (in Chinese). Gdsports.net. Archived from the original on 2017-04-29. Retrieved 2017-04-08.
  5. ↑ "50年代中国泳坛名将:战胜先天缺陷打破吴传玉纪录_综合体育_新浪竞技风暴_新浪网" (in Chinese). Sports.sina.com.cn. 2014-08-11. Retrieved 2017-04-08.
  6. ↑ "[体育在线]杨三生的"泳坛传奇"故事_体育_央视网(cctv.com)" (in Chinese). Sports.cntv.cn. 2016-01-12. Retrieved 2017-04-08.
  7. ↑ "永不言弃的力量 读《杨三生——一个人的泳坛传奇》有感-新华网" (in Chinese). News.xinhuanet.com. 2014-09-01. Archived from the original on September 10, 2014. Retrieved 2017-04-08.