Chinese women's volleyball legend Lang Ping awarded IOC Coaches Lifetime Achievement Award

Lang Ping, China's former women’s volleyball head coach during interviews. (Photo: China News Service/ Zhang Daozheng)

(ECNS) -- Chinese former women’s volleyball head coach, Lang Ping, has been awarded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coaches Lifetime Achievement Award, according to the IOC website.

Lang, known as the "iron hammer", and Cuban wrestling coach Raúl de Jesús Trujillo Díaz received the honor on Monday at a ceremony held in Lausanne, Switzerland.

IOC President Kirsty Coventry congratulated the recipients, saying that the lessons people learned in sport can shape their everyday lives, and "this is where the role of coaches is so important."

"Thank you for your commitment to your sports, to your athletes and their well-being for generations to come," Coventry added.

Lang said at the ceremony that the award is a "great honor” and she is "deeply grateful."

"There are so many people to thank – from the brilliant teams and players I have coached in China, Italy and the USA, to the coaches and mentors who shaped me as a player and as a person from my earliest days in the sport," she said.

"This recognition belongs to all of them."

The Chinese Volleyball Association congratulated Lang in a post on Monday evening, noting that she coached the national women’s team from 1995 to 1998 and again from 2013 to 2021, leading China to champions at the 2015 World Cup, the 2016 Rio Olympics, and the 2019 World Cup.

Born in Tianjin in December 1960, Lang is an Olympic champion who earned the nickname "iron hammer" during her career as a player, helping China secure three consecutive major titles: the 1981 World Cup, the 1982 World Championship, and the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

Established in 2017, the IOC Coaches Lifetime Achievement Award honors the indispensable role coaches play in athletes’ development on and off the field.

(By Zhang Jiahao)