Wang Meng
Wang Meng (Chinese: 王蒙), once the winner of three gold medals at the Vancouver Games in 2010, becomes a troubled athlete who was expelled from China’s speed skating team on August 4, 2011 and banned from international competitions.
The promising champion met her Waterloo when she hung out late in Qingdao on July 24, failing to return in time before the set curfew. Her team manager Wang Chunlu tried to talk to her, however, the two ended up in a fight, which sent Wang Meng to the hospital.
Several days later, the national team punished Wang Meng by expelling her out and the decision infuriated the hot tempered athlete, who made a quick response on her microblog, saying she would hold a press conference to reveal the skeleton in the team’s cupboard. However, not a piece of negative news has yet been leaked from the expelled champion.
The Qingdao incident was not the first trouble that Wang Meng made in worsening the reputation of the national speed skating team. In early June, Wang and her teammates were involved in a brawl with local security guard in Lijiang, Yunnan Province, when celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival at a local pub. Local police accused Wang and her teammates of making too much noise and singing after midnight. The dispute was solved after Wang and her teammates paid the compensation for the damages.
After the two incidents, Wang became a hot topic among the public, many of whom believe an athlete needs to be well disciplined. Yet there are also a number of people who believe the issue was rather a systematic problem than a personal phenomenon. An anonymous insider of the speed skating game, said, “As for a special athlete like Wang Meng who gets a strong personality, China’s Winter Sports Administration take a wrong strategy by quelling her and depriving her of the chance to speak out. Those made Wang a target of public criticism and led her to a psychological avalanche.”
On August 15, 2011, Wang Chunlu was removed from the post due to the fight broke out on July 24.
