SKATERS from China

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Chinese Skaters of all time. This list of famous Chinese Skaters is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Chinese Skaters.

1. Zhao Hongbo (b. 1973)

With an HPI of 39.72, Zhao Hongbo is the most famous Chinese Skater.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages on wikipedia.

Zhao Hongbo (Chinese: 赵宏博; pinyin: Zhào Hóngbó; born 22 September 1973) is a Chinese retired pair skater. With his wife Shen Xue, Zhao is the 2010 Olympic champion, the 2002 & 2006 Olympic bronze medalist, a three-time World champion (2002, 2003 & 2007), a three-time Four Continents Champion (1999, 2003 & 2007) and a six-time Grand Prix Final champion (1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2006 & 2009). Shen and Zhao were the first Chinese pair team to win a medal at an International Skating Union event and at the World Figure Skating Championships. In 2002, they became the first Chinese pair skating team to win a World Championship. They are also the first Chinese pair skaters to win a medal at the Winter Olympic Games. In 2010, they were the first Chinese skaters to win the gold medal at the Winter Olympic Games in any figure skating category, ending almost half a century of Russian and Soviet pair skating dominance.

2. Yang Yang (b. 1976)

With an HPI of 38.00, Yang Yang is the 2nd most famous Chinese Skater.  Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Yang Yang (Chinese: 杨扬; pinyin: Yáng Yáng; born 24 August 1976) is a retired Chinese short track speed skater. She is a two-time Olympic Champion from 2002 Winter Olympics and a six-time Overall World Champion for 1997–2002. Known as Yang Yang (A), she was formerly a member of the Chinese national short track team. Yang is one of the most accomplished short track speed skaters of all time having won 34 world titles, including six Overall World Championships. She is the first person to have won six Overall World Titles and won six consecutively. Her victory in the women's 500 m short track at the 2002 Winter Olympics made her China's first-ever Winter Olympics gold medalist. She added a second gold in the women's 1000 m short track at the same Games and has also won two silver and a bronze medal. After 2003 World Championships, Yang took time off competing, but came back in 2004–2005 season in lead-up to 2006 Winter Olympics where she won the bronze medal in 1000m race. She retired soon afterwards.

3. Ye Qiaobo (b. 1964)

With an HPI of 37.27, Ye Qiaobo is the 3rd most famous Chinese Skater.  Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Ye Qiaobo (born June 3, 1964) is a Chinese speed skater. She was born in Changchun, Jilin. She competed in the 1992 Winter Olympics and in the 1994 Winter Olympics. In the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Ye tested positive for steroids and was banned from international competition for 15 months. She maintained that she had followed the instructions of the team physician, but was nonetheless reviled in the Chinese press for bringing disgrace to her country and family. Officials later admitted that the team physician bore responsibility. In 1992, she competed against U.S. speed skater Bonnie Blair and won the silver medal in the 500 metres event with a time of 40.51. She also won a silver medal in the 1000 metres competition. Her silver in the 500m was the first medal for a Chinese athlete at the Winter Olympics. Two years later she won the bronze medal in the 1000 metres contest and finished 13th in the 500 metres event. She was the winner for World Sprint Speed Skating Championships for Women in 1992 and 1993.

4. Chen Lu (b. 1976)

With an HPI of 36.29, Chen Lu is the 4th most famous Chinese Skater.  Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Chen Lu (simplified Chinese: 陈露; traditional Chinese: 陳露; pinyin: Chén Lù, born 24 November 1976) is a Chinese former figure skater. She is the 1994 and 1998 Olympic bronze medalist and the 1995 World Champion. Chen won the first ever Olympic medal in figure skating for China.

5. Shen Xue (b. 1978)

With an HPI of 36.02, Shen Xue is the 5th most famous Chinese Skater.  Her biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Shen Xue (Chinese: 申雪; pinyin: Shēn Xuě; born 13 November 1978) is a Chinese retired pair skater. With her husband Zhao Hongbo, Shen is the 2010 Olympic champion, the 2002 & 2006 Olympic bronze medalist, a three-time World champion (2002, 2003 and 2007), a three-time Four Continents Champion (1999, 2003 & 2007), and a six-time Grand Prix Final champion (1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2006 & 2009). Shen and Zhao were the first Chinese pair team to win a medal at an International Skating Union event and at the World Figure Skating Championships. In 2002, they became the first Chinese pair skating team to win a World Championship. They are also the first Chinese pair skaters to win a medal at the Winter Olympic Games. In 2010, they became the first Chinese skaters to win the gold medal at a Winter Olympic Games in any figure skating category, ending almost half a century of Russian and Soviet pair skating dominance.

6. Tong Jian (b. 1979)

With an HPI of 34.65, Tong Jian is the 6th most famous Chinese Skater.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Tong Jian (Chinese: 佟健; pinyin: Tóng Jiàn; born August 15, 1979, in Harbin, Heilongjiang) is a Chinese retired pair skater. With his wife Pang Qing, he is the 2010 Olympic silver medalist, 2006 and 2010 World Champion, a five-time Four Continents champion (2002, 2004, 2008, 2009 and 2011) and the 2008 Grand Prix Final Champion.

7. Pang Qing (b. 1979)

With an HPI of 34.08, Pang Qing is the 7th most famous Chinese Skater.  Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Pang Qing (Chinese: 庞清; pinyin: Páng Qīng; born December 24, 1979, in Harbin, Heilongjiang) is a Chinese retired pair skater. With her husband Tong Jian, she is the 2010 Olympic silver medalist, the 2006 and 2010 World Champion, a five-time Four Continents champion (2002, 2004, 2008, 2009 & 2011) and the 2008 Grand Prix Final Champion.

8. Yang Yang (b. 1977)

With an HPI of 33.48, Yang Yang is the 8th most famous Chinese Skater.  Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Yang Yang (Chinese: 杨阳; pinyin: Yáng Yáng; born 14 September 1977 in Changchun, Jilin, China) is a Chinese Olympic speed skater of Hui ethnicity. Yang competed as a short track speed skater for the Chinese national team at the 1994 Winter Olympics, the 1998 Winter Olympics, and the 2002 Winter Olympics. Born 1977, Yang is sometimes known as Yang Yang (S), to differentiate her from the speed skater named Yang Yang born in 1976 (known as "Yang Yang (A)"). By coincidence, Yang had a one-year and one month older contemporary on the Chinese short track team also named Yang Yang in English and pinyin, although with a different given name in Chinese characters. They were originally referred to as Yang Yang (L) ("大杨扬") and Yang Yang (S) ("小杨阳"), for "Large" and "Small"; Yang Yang (L) disliked the "L" designation and changed her designation to Yang Yang (A). "A" and "S" also refer to their respective months of birth: August and September respectively.

9. Wang Manli (b. 1973)

With an HPI of 31.60, Wang Manli is the 9th most famous Chinese Skater.  Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Wang Manli (Chinese: 王曼丽, Wáng Mànlì, born 17 March 1973) is a Chinese ice speed skater who won a silver medal in the Women's 500 m at the 2006 Winter Olympics.

10. Zhang Dan (b. 1985)

With an HPI of 31.49, Zhang Dan is the 10th most famous Chinese Skater.  Her biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Zhang Dan (simplified Chinese: 张丹; traditional Chinese: 張丹; pinyin: Zhāng Dān; born 4 October 1985) is a Chinese former pair skater. With Zhang Hao, she is the 2006 Olympic silver medalist, a four-time (2005 bronze, 2006, 2008, 2009 silver) World medalist, and a two-time (2005, 2010) Four Continents champion. Zhang Dan retired from competition on May 6, 2012.