Ice queen Yang still a real cool customer

Yang Yang went from being an ordinary little girl in Northeast China to a short-track speed-skating world champion who won the nation's first ever Winter Olympics gold medal.

The 41-year-old, addressed an audience of young people at Xinhua News Agency's "New Youth 2018 Summer Speech" recently, revealing the secrets of her success and calling on China's youth to illuminate the future with their dreams.

"People fail to realize their dreams, not because they lack talent, but because of an absence of courage to face failure and to insist on commitments," said Yang, recalling her first Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan in 1998.