Yao Bin

Yao Bin is a figure skating coach. He is considered one of the pioneers of the sport in China. Yao and his partner Luan Bo were the first team to represent China at a . Since then Yao has almost single-handedly turned into a pair skating world power.

In the closed society of mid-20th century China, Luan and Yao had only photographs from which to learn their moves. They had a terrible experience at the 1980 World Championships in Dortmund, West Germany; Yao has said he remembers people in the audience laughing at their inferior skating. They finished 15th, in last place. They competed at the worlds twice more in 1981 and 1982, finishing last both times. They also placed 15th at the 1984 Winter Olympics. After these embarrassing experiences, Yao was determined to create a team of world-class figure skaters.

Yao was a member of the Harbin figure skating team from 1970-1984. In September 1984 he retired as an amateur skater and became a coach for the Harbin team. In 1986 he was named the national coach of the sport and soon afterward, in August 1987, graduated from the Harbin Normal University Sports College. He has served as the national figure skating committee's director since 1998.

Yao coaches 3-time World champions Shen Xue/Zhao Hongbo, 2006 World champions Pang Qing/Tong Jian, and 2006 World silver medalists Zhang Dan/Zhang Hao. In the 2006 Winter Olympics, Zhang/Zhang won the silver medal, followed by Shen/Zhao for bronze, and Pang/Tong in fourth.

In 2004 Yao came full circle--at the 2004 World Championships in Dortmund, where 24 years prior he and his partner had finished last, Yao's pair teams placed 2nd, 3rd, and 5th. That year, Yao received ''International Figure Skating Magazine'''s Coach of the Year award.