- Date
- 07 May 2004
- Tags
- IOC News
A table tennis virtuoso at the Olympic Museum
Table tennis virtuoso Yaping Deng was four-times Olympic champion (in singles and doubles in Barcelona and Atlanta) and several-times medallist at the world championships (nine gold medals and five silver). When she is in Switzerland, Yaping often stops by the Olympic Studies Centre located at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne. She paid a visit this week.
A thesis on Olympism
At the Olympic Studies Centre, Yaping picked up valuable information which is useful for her research work. Quite recently, she offered the Olympic Museum Library a copy of her thesis entitled: “From bound feet to Olympic Gold in China: the Case of Women’s Table Tennis”, which retraces the evolution of women’s sport in China since the 1950s.
A brilliant university career
After having attended the Business School of the University of Nottingham (Great Britain), this 31-year-old Chinese athlete is now in the second year of a PhD at Jesus College, Cambridge, where she is studying land economy.
Devoted to the Olympic Movement
When asked where her many diplomas will lead her, she replies without hesitation, “One thing is sure, my greatest desire is to contribute to the development of the Olympic Movement. As a former athlete, I understand better than anyone the importance and value of sport.”
Member of two IOC commissions
Yaping Deng sits on two IOC commissions: the Athletes’ Commission and the Sport and Environment Commission. She also works for the Marketing Department of the Organising Committee for the 2008 Games in Beijing (BOCOG).
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