C.K. Yang, Taiwanese Olympian passes away in CA

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.venturacountystar.com/vcs/co ... 08,00.html

Taiwanese Olympian is buried in Ventura
By Rhiannon Potkey, rpotkey@VenturaCountyStar.com
February 4, 2007

To the people of Taiwan, he was a national hero.

To the people of Ventura, he was the man who cut their meat.

To Asian countrymen, he was the track and field icon who brought them glory by capturing Taiwan's first Olympic medal.

To his Thousand Oaks neighbors, he was the spry senior who took daily walks through The Oaks mall for exercise.

Although he was born in Taiwan and competed for his native country, C.K. Yang had deep Ventura County connections.

Friends, family members and Taiwanese dignitaries gathered to honor the Olympic silver medal-winning decathlete in Ventura on Saturday afternoon during a memorial service at Ted Mayr Funeral Home and burial at Ivy Lawn Memorial Park.

Yang, a longtime Thousand Oaks resident, died of complications from a stroke on Jan. 27 at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Woodland Hills. He was 74.

From his humble beginnings as the son of a rice farmer, Chuan-Kwang Yang became a symbol of national pride when he captured the silver medal in the decathlon at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome after a riveting duel with UCLA teammate and good friend Rafer Johnson.

Yang was nicknamed the "Asian Iron Man," and his legacy included two gold medals at the Asian Games and former world records in the decathlon and pole vault.

‘A world-class athlete'

Many county residents knew another side of Yang.

Married to Daisy Jue, whose family owned Jue's Market on Main Street in Ventura, Yang spent many Sunday afternoons working behind the meat counter at the market wielding a large cleaver and a warm smile.

While slicing slabs of beef for backyard barbecues, Yang established close ties with the loyal customers. Some were aware of his athletic feats, while others had no clue.

"If you didn't know who he was, you would never suspect he was a world-class athlete and celebrity," said Jim Morgan, an assistant principal at Buena High School who worked as a box boy at the market from 1962 to 1966. "He was just a regular guy in there who even swept the floors. He was just as congenial and nice to everybody."

Yang's track prowess came in handy at the market when a shoplifter made off with a bottle of liquor. After an employee told Yang, he gave chase and caught the unsuspecting robber near Anacapa Street. Yang recovered the liquor and let the man go free.

During his Olympic years, Yang occasionally trained at Ventura High School's track. One afternoon, he tried to offer advice to a young pole-vaulter who replied, "I already have a coach."

"C.K. just politely walked away, but the coach said, ‘Do you know who that is? That is C.K. Yang. He just broke the world record on the pole vault,'" said Yang's sister-in-law, Dorothy Lee.

A model for sportsmanship

At a time when track and field was soaring in popularity, the dramatic decathlon showdown in Rome between Yang and Johnson captured the world's attention.

The competition came down to the final event â€â€

[master]

When I was in high school, and had just been introduced to pole vaulting, my coach arranged for several of the kids on the team to go to Portland to see an indoor track meet. As a youngster, it was the only time I ever saw Olympic athletes.

Watching CK Yang pole vault was the highlight for me. However we were sitting near the top row of the arena and it was difficult to see and appreciate what was being accomplished. It brings a smile to my face to recall that event, but I'm saddened by his passing.

- master

[vaultmd]

I'm very sad to hear this and am sadder that I was not able to pay my respects to his family. CK and I spent time together when I was helping at his training camp near Kaoshung in 1978. CK was on of the few who knew how hard it was on an american chinese kid training in Taiwan. Last time I saw him was at the Riverside Relays in 1980.