"Jenny" Lang Ping (Chinese: 郎平; pinyin: Láng Píng; born 10 December 1960) is a Chinese former volleyball player and coach. She is the former head coach of the Chinese women's national volleyball team and U.S. women's national volleyball team. As a player, Lang won the most valuable player award in women's volleyball at the 1984 Olympics.[1]
| Lang Ping | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Lang in 2008 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Nickname | Iron Hammer (铁榔头/鐵榔頭) | ||
| Born | 10 December 1960 Tianjin, China | ||
| Hometown | Tianjin, China | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Weight | 71 kg (157 lb) | ||
| College / University | Beijing Normal University University of New Mexico | ||
| Volleyball information | |||
| Position | Outside hitter | ||
| Number | 1 | ||
| National team | |||
| |||
In 2002, Lang became an inductee of the International Volleyball Hall of Fame in Holyoke, Massachusetts.[2] She coached the U.S. women's national team to a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in her home country. Lang later coached the gold medal-winning Chinese women's national team at the 2016 Rio Olympics, becoming the first person in volleyball history, male or female, to have won Olympic gold both as a player and as a coach.[3][4]
Lang is the main character in the 2020 biographical film Leap,[5] in which she is played by actress Gong Li.[6]
Personal life
editLang Ping was born in Tianjin. She was married to Chinese former handball player "Frank" Bai Fan from 1987 to 1995. In 1992, they had a daughter named Lydia Lang Bai, who played volleyball for Stanford University[7] and played the young version of Lang Ping in the film Leap.[8] Lang is currently married to Wang Yucheng, a professor at the China Academy of Social Science.[9]
In 1987, Lang moved to Los Angeles with Bai to study and serve as an assistant volleyball coach at the University of New Mexico. When asked about the reasons for her move, she said she wanted "to taste a normal life."[10] She maintains Chinese citizenship despite having lived in the U.S. for more than 15 years.[11]
Career
editNicknamed the "Iron Hammer",[1][11] Lang was a member of the Chinese national team that won the gold medal over the United States at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.[12] She was also a member of the team that won the World Championship crown in 1982 in Peru and won World Cup titles in 1981 and 1985 in Japan.[13][14] She captained the 1985 World Cup team and was named the most valuable player of the tournament.[14] The Chinese women's volleyball team won multiple World Championships during Lang's career. Lang was the star outside hitter on the team. She was named one of China's Top Ten Athletes of the year from 1981 to 1986.[15]
Legacy in China
editOwing to her central role in the success of the Chinese women's volleyball team in the 1980s, Lang was seen as a cultural icon and is one of the most respected people in modern Chinese sports history. Lang is remembered as one of the first world champions for China.[15]
Coaching
editLang was an assistant coach at the University of New Mexico from 1987–89 and 1992–93.[2]
In 1995, Lang became the head coach of the Chinese national team and eventually guided the squad to the silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and second place at the 1998 World Championships in Japan.[13] Lang Ping resigned from the Chinese national team in 1998 for health reasons. In the following year, she took a head coaching position in the Italian professional volleyball league and enjoyed great success there, winning various honours and the coach of the year award multiple times. She was selected 1996 FIVB Coach of the Year.[2]
She became the coach of the US National Team in 2005.[16] Lang guided the team to the 2008 Olympics, where the US team faced off with China in her home country. The US team defeated China 3–2. Then Chinese and US presidents, Hu Jintao and George W. Bush, attended the match.[17] The match drew 250 million television viewers in China alone. The team went on to win the silver medal, losing to Brazil in the finals 3–1. Lang allowed her contract to run out later that year, citing that she wanted to coach a club so as to spend more time with her family.[18] She became the head coach of the China women's national volleyball team for the second time in 2013 and won the World Cup in Japan in 2015. In 2014, she was the only female head coach among the 24 teams in the FIVB World Championship.[19]
On August 21, 2016, Lang Ping guided the Chinese national team to the gold medal at 2016 Rio Olympics. With this victory, Lang Ping became the first person in volleyball history, male or female, to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games as a player with the Chinese national team in Los Angeles 1984 and as the Chinese national team head coach in Rio 2016. On September 29, 2019, after China swept all eleven matches to defend the World Cup title, Lang Ping also became the first person to win the back-to-back World Cup champions both as a player (1981, 1985) and as a coach (2015, 2019).[20]
Coaching career
edit| Club/Team | Country | year |
| Chinese NT |  China
|
1995 - 1998 |
| Volley Modena |  Italy
|
1999 - 2002 |
| Asystel Novara | Italy
|
2002 - 2004 |
| Pieralisi Jesi | Italy
|
2005 |
| USA NT |  United States
|
2005 - 2008 |
| Telecom Ankara |  Turkey
|
2008 - 2009 |
| Guangdong Evergrande | China
|
2009 - 2014 |
| Chinese NT | China
|
2013–2021 |
Awards
editIndividuals
edit- 1996 FIVB Coach of the Year
National team
edit- As a player
- 1981 World Cup -
Gold Medal - 1982 World Championship -
Gold Medal - 1984 Olympic Games Los Angeles -
Gold Medal - 1985 World Cup - Gold Medal
- 1990 World Championship -
Silver Medal
- As a coach
- 1995 World Cup -
Bronze Medal - 1996 Olympic Games Atlanta -
Silver Medal - 1998 World Championship - Silver Medal
- 2007 World Cup - Bronze Medal
- 2008 Olympic Games Beijing - Silver Medal
- 2014 World Championship - Silver Medal
- 2015 World Cup - Gold Medal
- 2016 Olympic Games Rio - Gold Medal
- 2018 World Championship -
Bronze Medal - 2019 World Cup - Gold Medal
References
edit- ^ a b Tabuchi, Hiroko (9 August 2008). "Return of the 'Iron Hammer'". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 19 August 2008.
- ^ a b c "China's Lang Ping gets U.S. volleyball post". USA Today. 8 February 2005. Archived from the original on 27 May 2007. Retrieved 19 August 2008.
- ^ "Lang Ping becomes first person in volleyball to win Olympic gold as player and coach". FIVB. 21 August 2016. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016.
- ^ Zuo, Mandy (21 August 2016). "Volleyball visionary: coach Lang Ping worth her weight in gold – and more". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 25 June 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ^ Davis, Rebecca (25 September 2020). "Gong Li Drama 'Leap' Opens to $8.2 Million in China". Variety. Los Angeles: Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ Chan, Peter Ho-Sun (25 September 2020), "Leap", IMDb (Drama, Sport), Gong Li, Bo Huang, Gang Wu, Yuchang Peng, retrieved 11 February 2021
- ^ "#1 Lydia Bai". Stanford University Athletics. Archived from the original on 11 September 2024. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ Gallegos, Ricardo (10 January 2021). "Director Peter Chan and Actress Lydia Bai on the Technical and Political Challenges Behind China's Oscar Submission 'Leap'". Asian Movie Pulse. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ "CHN: Lang Ping got married!". WorldofVolley. 19 January 2016. Archived from the original on 11 September 2023.
- ^ Townsend, Brad (6 August 2008). "Lang Ping left China for 'normal life'". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 19 August 2008.
- ^ a b "Iron Hammer still pounding". China Daily. 22 January 2008. Archived from the original on 21 August 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2008.
- ^ Vecsey, George (8 August 1984). "Triumph and Defeat for American Women; Volleyball; China Ends U.S. Quest". The New York Times. p. A15. Retrieved 5 September 2024. (subscription required)
- ^ a b "Lang Ping goes home". The Washington Times. 15 August 2008. Archived from the original on 7 September 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
- ^ a b Lokegaonkar, Jay (5 February 2023). "History of FIVB Volleyball World Cup and winners list". Olympics.com. Archived from the original on 16 September 2024. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
- ^ a b Lassen, David (8 July 2008). "U.S. women's volleyball coach an icon back in Beijing". Ventura County Star. Archived from the original on 27 August 2008. Retrieved 19 August 2008.
- ^ Dwyre, Bill (22 August 2008). "U.S. settles score with Cuba, will play for gold". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 10 September 2024. (subscription required)
- ^ Wong, Edward (15 August 2008). "Ex-Chinese Star Guides U.S. to Win in Volleyball". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 August 2008.
- ^ "Lang Ping not to extend US volleyball contract". China Internet Information Center. 中国网. 26 November 2008. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 26 November 2008.
- ^ "Coaches Lang Ping and Kiraly, star players 30 years ago, face off in title match". FIVB. 12 October 2014. Archived from the original on 15 October 2014.
- ^ "China crowned World Cup champions anew". FIVB. 29 September 2019. Archived from the original on 21 August 2022.
