Yang Yang: Under the special background, the "one heart" medal believes that it will touch people's hearts| interview

On October 26, on the occasion of the 100-day countdown to the Beijing Winter Olympics, the Beijing Winter Olympic Medal "One Heart" was officially released. The Beijing News reporter interviewed Yang Yang, chairman of the Athletes Committee of the Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee and the winner of China's first Winter Olympic gold medal. She told reporters about her understanding of medals.

In addition, Yang Yang also introduced that the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee established an athletes' committee at the beginning of its establishment in 2015. The Winter Olympics are coming, and the Athletes' Committee will hold another general meeting. During the Olympic Games, all members of the Athletes' Committee will be involved in the entire process.

On October 14, Yang Yang, chairman of the Athletes Committee of the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee, was interviewed. Beijing News reporter Hou Shaoqing photographed

The Winter Olympics won gold

The medal records victory and also records the experience of participating in the Olympic Games

Beijing News: As the winner of China's first Winter Olympic gold medal, what kind of special significance do you think the medal has for athletes?

Yang Yang: For athletes, medals are a dream and a goal to chase. The moment you stand on the podium, the moment the medal hangs around your neck, the dream comes true! Therefore, the medal is a particularly concrete embodiment, reflecting our dreams, reflecting the process of our pursuit of dreams. Athletes are very concerned about the process of medal generation.

Beijing News: When standing on the podium and hanging this medal around the neck, what is the mood of the athletes at this time?

Yang Yang: I think back when I got my first medal, I stood on the podium and was shaking all the time. It's still very interesting to think about it now, because I have participated in many World Championships before this, and the podium is not unfamiliar to me, but that time is still very different.

Standing on the highest podium of the Olympic Games, the excitement is difficult to express in words, it has been nearly 20 years, but the memory is still very deep.

In fact, under the circumstances at the time, you may not have the heart to study the design of the entire medal. But looking back, now I occasionally take it out to share with friends and family members, and then see that it actually has a lot of connotations in it, and it is in line with the era at that time, in line with the culture of the place where it was held.

As we get older and time goes by, there is actually a memory behind the medal. Memories include not only victories, but more importantly the process, but also those experiences that participated in the Olympics, the local culture and the local people.

Medal design

The Olympic stage showcases the cultures of various countries, and medals are "embodied embodiments"

Beijing News: This time to see the Beijing Winter Olympics medal "one heart", how do you feel?

Yang Yang: There is one feature of this medal that particularly impressed me, that is, its theme is called "Five Rings of One Heart". Everyone knows that the five rings of the Olympic Games represent five continents, especially in such a special context of the Winter Olympics, and I believe that everyone feels that it is not easy to come to the Beijing Winter Olympics. Only when everyone unites and lets the world come together can such a beautiful wish be realized.

To get a medal in such a situation, I believe it means a lot. So I wish athletes the ability to achieve their dreams.

At the same time, the most important thing in the process of chasing medals is everyone's efforts, so I also wish all the athletes who come to participate in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

Beijing News: In your opinion, how to combine China's local cultural characteristics and international expression in the medal design, so that the international audience can understand and accept it?

Yang Yang: From a professional level, an Olympic Games has international standards and comes according to international rules. But at the same time, it can also showcase the unique and rich culture of the host.

Like the design of the medal "Five Rings Concentric" at the Beijing Winter Olympics, the card body is composed of rings and circles, and the image is derived from the ancient Chinese concentric circle jade bi. The five rings are concentric and concentric, which is highly consistent with the humanistic connotation of Chinese culture of "heaven and earth are united, and people's hearts are the same". Through such a fit way, using Chinese culture to show the "five rings of one heart", especially in such a special historical background, I believe it will touch people's hearts, I like this design very much.

Beijing News: Are there any medals that impressed you more, and how did they integrate with the culture of the host city and the host country?

Yang Yang: I have had the honor of working in international organizations and have been a judge of medal design awards twice. The call for medals is conducted on a global scale, which in itself is an open and inclusive attitude.

I believe that designers around the world will take into account the embodiment of Chinese cultural characteristics when they think of the Beijing Winter Olympics. Not only do we Chinese ourselves to reflect, foreign designers will also be willing to use such opportunities to understand Chinese culture, and they can add the content of Chinese culture to their designs.

So I also valued this in the past in the process of participating in medal design selection, because the Olympic Games, in addition to showing the competitive level of athletes, is also a stage to show local culture. It is very important to be able to communicate with the world through the opportunity of the Olympic Games. Olympic medals are a very concrete embodiment.

The Winter Olympics perform their duties

During the game, all the members will devote themselves to the work of the event

Beijing News: The 100-day countdown to the Beijing Winter Olympics, how do you feel? From your job, what are the important tasks to be completed in the next 100 days?

Yang Yang: The 100-day countdown to the Beijing Winter Olympics is a very important day for the world. For the organizing committee, it has entered the real sprint stage. For athletes, the Olympic Games are really coming, and it is also the sprint stage of preparation. This is a very critical moment and I am sure the world will also be very interested in today's event.

The Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee established the Athletes' Committee at the beginning of its establishment in 2015, and we also run the Olympic Games with the concept of athletes as the center. The organizing committee has attached great importance to the voices of athletes in the past few years, and the 19 members of the athletes' committee have also been very actively involved in the work.

Before the Winter Olympics, the Athletes' Committee will have one last meeting. We want to summarize our past work and hope to hear more from the athletes.

During the Olympic Games, all members of the Athletes' Committee will also be involved in the entire process. Because a considerable number of members have positions in the organizing committee and the national team, they will stand in their own posts and also act as representatives of our athlete committee to protect the rights and interests of athletes.

In addition, there are some committee members, like me, who may have more social positions, who also have the status of an international organization, and who are also the chairman of the athletes' committee, and will also put forward some opinions and suggestions for the organizing committee to run the Winter Olympic Games from the perspective of athletes.

Beijing News reporter Wu Wei photojournalist Hou Shaoqing

Edited by Liu Xixian Proofreader Jia Ning