Zhang Ruiyang

Zhang was born on 21 December 2007, in Beijing, China.^[1] She is currently a student at Beijing No. 10 Middle School.^[2]

She is often nicknamed "Dada."^[3]

Summarize Timeline Fact Check

Zhang began skating at the age of six. She was then inspired to pursue the sport competitively after being moved by the "graceful movements and exquisite techniques" of figure skaters from online videos that her parents showed her.^[4]

She made her junior national debut at the 2022 Chinese Junior Championships, where she finished in sixth place. The following season, she competed on both the junior and senior level at the 2023 Chinese Championships, placing fourth and fifth, respectively.^[5]

Zhang started the season by making her junior international debut at 2023 JGP Austria, finishing in twelfth place.^[5]

In December, Zhang competed at the 2024 Chinese Championships, Zhang placed seventh at both the junior and senior levels. Two months later, she competed at the 14th Chinese National Winter Games, winning gold in the team event and placing fourth in the individual event.^[5]

Zhang began her season by finishing fourth on the junior level at the 2024 Asian Open Trophy. She subsequently competed on the junior and senior level at the 2025 Chinese Championships, where she finished fifth and eighth, respectively.^[5]

Zhang opened her season by making her senior international debut at the 2025 Asian Open Trophy, winning the gold medal.^[5] Because of this result, Zhang was selected to compete at the ISU Skate to Milano, the final qualifying event for the 2026 Winter Olympics, held in her hometown of Beijing.^[3]

At the event, Zhang scored personal bests in all competition segments after placing fourth in the short program, sixth in the free skate, and fifth overall.^[5] Her top five finish ultimately won China an Olympic berth in the women's singles event at the upcoming Olympics. Following the event, she shared, "I am very happy to have been able to secure an Olympic spot for China in this competition, because it was a lot of pressure. I have also been working on psychological aspects, and I have learned a great deal through this experience."^[6]

Selected as a host pick, Zhang made her Grand Prix debut at the 2025 Cup of China, finishing in seventh place overall.^[5] In December, she competed at the 2026 Chinese Championships, winning the silver medal behind fourteen-year old, Jin Shuxian. As a result of Jin being age ineligible to compete on the senior international level, Zhang was ultimately granted the sole women's singles skating spot for the 2026 Winter Olympics.^[7] She was also selected to compete at the 2026 Four Continents Championships and the 2026 World Championships.^[2]

In January, Zhang competed 2026 Four Continents Championships in Beijing, China, finishing in tenth place overall.^[5]

On 6 February, Zhang placed eighth in the short program in the 2026 Winter Olympics Figure Skating Team Event. "I'm very excited about being at the Olympics," she said. "I heard the cheering, I heard the enthusiasm, and I felt it and that was very exciting. I'm always telling myself to be confident at every competition. That will help me improve myself."^[8] Combined with her result, Team China placed eighth overall.^[5]

On 17 February, Zhang competed in the short program segment of the 2026 Winter Olympics – Women's singles event, placing twentieth. Two days later, she placed nineteenth in the free skate segment to place nineteenth overall.^[5] Reflecting on her time at the Olympics, Zhang shared, "I was able to learn from the characteristics of different athletes and different countries, and try to apply what I learned to myself to improve my performance, jumps and connections. Mentally, I think everyone will be nervous during the competition, and what I need to do is find a way to turn that nervousness into motivation."^[9]

The following month, Zhang made her senior World debut at the 2026 World Championships. She placed eighteenth in the short program but rose to fourteenth in the free skate, finishing sixteenth overall.^[10]

Season	Short program	Free skating	Exhibition
2025–2026 [1]	Frozen by Madonna choreo. by Adam Solya	Miss Saigon Overture / The Heat Is On in Saigon The Fall of Saigon The Sacred Bird The American Dream This Is the Hour Finale: Sun & Moon (Reprise) by Claude-Michel Schönberg performed by Lea Salonga choreo. Wang Jialei	Battle Without Honor or Humanity by Tomoyasu Hotei Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen performed by Tori Kelly choreo. by Elvin Wong
2024–2025 [11]	Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen performed by Tori Kelly choreo. by Elvin Wong
2023–2024 [12]		Until the Last Moment by Yanni choreo. by Elvin Wong
2022–2023 [13][14]	Violin Concerto No. 4 in F Minor, RV 297, Op. 8 "L'inverno": I. Allegro non molto (from The Four Seasons) by Antonio Vivaldi performed by Anne-Sophie Mutter, Herbert von Karajan, & Vienna Philharmonic	Un bel dì, vedremo (from Madama Butterfly) by Giacomo Puccini performed by BBC Concert Orchestra, Barry Wordsworth, Mirella Freni, Vienna Philharmonic, & Herbert von Karajan

Competition placements at senior level ^[5][15]

Season	2022–23	2023–24	2024–25	2025–26
Winter Olympics				19th
Winter Olympics (Team event)				8th
World Championships				16th
Four Continents Championships				10th
Chinese Championships	5th	7th	8th	2nd
GP Cup of China				7th
Asian Open Trophy				1st
National Winter Games		4th
National Winter Games (Team event)		1st (1st)
Skate to Milano				5th

Competition placements at junior level ^[5][15]

Season	2021–22	2022–23	2023–24	2024–25
Chinese Championships	6th	4th	7th	5th
JGP Austria			12th
Asian Open Trophy				4th