Unexpected journey

Yang's journey to the waves was unexpected. Growing up in the mountainous Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture in Sichuan, the sea was once a distant concept for Yang.

She was an energetic and lively child from a young age. Her uncle introduced her to a sailing team affiliated with an acquaintance, which required training in Hainan province. Thus, at the age of eight, Yang saw the ocean for the first time.

After a year of sailing, an opportunity exposed her to the new sport of surfing.

In 2018, the Chinese national surfing team was officially established, and surfing programs subsequently opened in Sichuan. Around the same time, as sailing was dropped from the National Games program, Yang and her teammates collectively transitioned to surfing.

This involuntary shift, however, led her to discover her true passion.

"After I started surfing, I found it much more interesting than sailing. Every training session felt incredibly fun. Over the years of training, even when sessions were long and my body felt tired, I never found it particularly hard or exhausting," Yang recalled.

Her passion and dedication to surfing began to pay off as her results steadily improved. She participated in the National Surfing Championships every year from 2018 to 2023, winning the title multiple times.

At the World Surfing Games in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, in March 2024, Yang secured her Olympic quota spot by winning the Repechage Round 6 with a score of 11.83 points. This achievement guaranteed her place among the 24 women who would go on to compete in the Paris 2024 surfing event in French Polynesia, writing her name into the nation's history books.