Yang Chuan-kwang
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| Medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Yang Chuan-kwang |
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| Men's Athletics | |||
Competitor for  Chinese Taipei |
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| Olympic Games | |||
| Silver | 1960 Rome | Decathlon | |
Yang Chuan-kwang, or C.K. Yang (traditional Chinese: 楊傳廣) (born 10 July 1933 in Taitung, Taiwan – died January 27, 2007 in California, United States) was an Olympic decathlete from Taiwan. Known as the "Iron Man of Asia," Yang won the gold for Taiwan in decathlon at the 1954 Asian Games. His most memorable competition was a duel with his friend and fellow UCLA schoolmate Rafer Johnson at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. Going into the final event of the decathlon, the 1500 metres run, Yang trailed Johnson by 67 points, but Johnson hung on for the win. However, Yang actually beat Johnson in the seven track events, but the losing margin to Johnson in the three field events was big enough to cost him the title. In 1963, Yang set a new world record in pole vaulting [1]. He belonged to the Ami tribe of the Taiwanese aborigines. He also had a wife and two sons: Cedric Yang (Yang Sui-yuen) and C.K. Yang, Jr.
Yang, suffering from liver cancer since 2001, died on January 27, 2007, due to a massive stroke. He died in Los Angeles, California; he was laid to rest in Ventura, California.
[edit] External links
- Database Olympics
- UCLA site about Yang Chuan Kwang
- (Chinese) Asian Iron Man: Yang Chuan-kuang dies of illness, Apple Daily, January 29, 2007
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
Preceded by Rafer Johnson |
Men's Decathlon World Record Holder April 28, 1963 – July 24, 1966 |
Succeeded by Russ Hodge |
| Awards | ||
Preceded by Peter Snell |
Track & Field Athlete of the Year 1963 |
Succeeded by Peter Snell |
