On February 2, Beijing time, the Beijing Winter Olympic Torch Relay was held in the Olympic Forest Park, and the 19th baseball torchbearer was Yao Ming, president of the Chinese Basketball Association. In this way, Yao Ming also became the torchbearer of the "Double Olympics".
It is worth mentioning that today, a total of 135 torchbearers carried out a 10.6-kilometer torch relay in the Olympic Forest Park. Chinese Basketball Chairman Yao Ming, as the 19th torchbearer, lit the torch in the hands of the 20th torchbearer, The Greek Ambassador to China, George Ilhopoulos. At today's torch relay site, Yao Ming can be said to be the most recognizable torchbearer.
As a well-known former basketball player in the mainland, Yao Ming was the image ambassador of Beijing's bid to host the Winter Olympics and a member of the Beijing Winter Olympic Bid Presentation Team. In recent years, he has often cheered for the Beijing Winter Olympics on various occasions.
When asked what it was like to participate in the Winter Olympic Torch Relay, Yao Ming said: "Although the weather is very cold, but the heart is very warm, there is a fire in winter, it is very warm."
As a Chinese basketball celebrity, Yao Ming has contributed greatly to Chinese basketball and even sports, he has excellent athletic performance, looking back on Yao Ming's NBA career, he was selected by the Houston Rockets as a champion in the 2002 NBA Draft, and was selected to the NBA All-Star Game team for 6 consecutive seasons (8 times in his career) in 2003-09, 2 times selected for the NBA Best Team Second Team, and 3 times selected for the NBA Best Team Third Team. On July 20, 2011, Yao Announced His Retirement.
After retiring from the military, Yao Ming devoted himself to the cause of chinese basketball, and currently serves as the president of the Asian Basketball Federation, the chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association, and the chairman and general manager of the China Professional Federation.