On a wall in her house in Colorado, speed skating coach Li Yan has hung a photo of herself with former student Apolo Anton Ohno. Some 10,000km away in her Beijing home, on another wall hidden away from prying eyes, is one of her with Chinese women's No 1 Wang Meng.

China's head coach Li Yan celebrates with one of her short track skaters, Zhou Yang, during a World Cup stop in Beijing on Sunday. [China Daily]

For Li these photos, and the friendships they testify to, are worth their weight in Olympic gold - not to mention world championship titles and new world records. Under her tutelage, US skater Ohno swept the 500m gold medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, while Wang rewrote history two months ago by clocking a new world record of 43.125 seconds at the same distance - a time she has since beaten twice.

Li, who was appointed just after the 2006 Games to lead China's skaters to greater heights at Vancouver 2010, said that building best friendships with her wards is an integral part of her - and their - success.

"I'm the best friend of all my skaters," the 40-year-old told China Daily last weekend at Beijing Capital Gymnasium during a World Cup stop. "I treasure all my coaching experiences."

Yet it was not easy for Li, a slim but energetic figure who was bubbling with excitement after seeing the men win their first medals of the season in Beijing, to tame the stars and show them what they were capable of. Ohno, in particular, was mistrustful of the Chinese coach and her methods despite coming from a mixed Asian-American background, while Wang constantly challenged her ideas at the outset.

"Ohno didn't know what I could bring to the team and there was also a language barrier to begin with," she said, recalling her move to head up the US national team in 2003. "We didn't know each other, but I opened my heart and did my best and we became firm friends.

"I believe my skaters can feel what I am trying to achieve as we all have the same goal, and it's fantastic to see them improve over time as they absorb what I'm saying."

Ohno became so enamored of Li that he rushed straight over to give her a hug after crossing the finish line in Turin to win Olympic gold.

"That hug is the biggest affirmation of my coaching success and it meant a lot," she said.

Ohno, who was also in Beijing on Sunday, told China Daily he had quickly dispelled his initial trepidation.

"She is great," he said. "There are many areas where she has helped me. It's hard to pick just one."

When Li was invited to pick up the reins back home in China more than two years ago, she soon butted heads with Wang, the most feisty and talented member of the national team, which was suffering a talent drought due to the retirement of several high-profile stars.

Wang told journalists at the 2007 Asian Winter Games that she wanted "to go back to the provincial team after the Games because the national team doesn't suit me." Further disparaging comments and complaints about her teammates' lack of cooperation saw her banned from competing in the World Championships two months later.

Luckily, Li had just the tonic to Wang's malady: some tender love and care.

"I've improve a lot (under her)," said Wang. "Li has not only given us new techniques, but has also helped us a lot in our daily lives."

With a newfound self-belief installed in her by the coach, Wang broke the women's 500m world record of 43.671 seconds held by Evgenia Radanova of Bulgaria at the season-opening World Cup stop in Salt Lake City in October. The record had stood for seven years.

After refreshing it twice more in Beijing last weekend to set a new mark of 42.609, her confidence now knows no bounds.

"Li told me I could go under 42.5 two years ago," she said. "I didn't believe her then, but I do now."

Life in the fast lane

Li blazed her own trail as a skater, winning the 1,000m at the Calgary Winter Olympics in 1988 when speed skating was just a demonstration sport and taking silver four years later in Albertville for China's first-ever Winter Olympic medal.

After retiring in 1995 she got a bachelor's degree in finance and economics then coached Slovakia's national team before heading to the US. China's State General Administration of Sport awarded her and six other retired skaters for their accomplishments last weekend.

"I feel as though my motherland has never forgotten me and my era," she said upon accepting the award from China's sports minister Liu Peng.

Extra ammo

With the 2010 Winter Games firmly in her sights, Li can count on 17-year-old Zhou Yang and Liu Qiuhong, 20, to bolster her arsenal as China again takes on the mighty South Korea for gold medals.

The men's team is also on the rise after ending its medal drought this season at the Beijing stop by winning three bronzes.

In the men's 500m, Wang Hongyang even edged Ohno out of the finals.

"I'm very glad to see my skaters are able to beat the Olympic champion," said Li.

"I've been confident of the team from the get go. Although I have no specific target for how many gold medals we can win in Vancouver, we will of course do our best."

And, with a touch of TLC, she hopes, that best will just keep on getting better.

(China Daily December 9, 2008)