… disappointed in Athens, Yang was ready to quit at the age of 24. What a loss that would have been for China.
And for the sport.
“After the Athens Games, I wanted to retire from the national team because I thought I was in very good shape back then. If I couldn’t win a gold medal then, I thought I could never get a gold,” said Yang, who had the gold medal for the taking in Athens but couldn’t close the deal, falling — literally — to seventh.
“Extra training would not have had an effect. I was worried that even if I could have adjusted myself to the best standards in 2008, I could not get a gold.
“But my coach, Huang Yubin, kept on encouraging me. He took me on a vacation and told me that the 2008 Games would be the greatest chance in 100 years, and I should have a try at it. He kept pushing me, and then he kicked me to the highest position on the podium.” …
Despite his Gawd-awful Horizontal Bar routine, Yang Wei …
… won so decisively Thursday (by 2.60 points) that the gap between him and Uchimura was the same as between the silver medalist and the 19th-place finisher.
More on Yang Wei’s gymnastics triumph – Dallas News
Gymnastics Coaching.com 