New doc on ‘Iron Man of Asia’ is free to watch on YouTube

A recent documentary from Taiwan pays homage to Yang Chuan-kwang, also known as C.K. Yang, a decathlon Olympian dubbed the “Iron Man of Asia” in the 1960s.

Born on July 10, 1933, in Taiwan during the Japanese occupation (1895–1945), Yang made history at the 1960 Rome Olympics as the first Taiwanese athlete and the first person with a Chinese name to win a silver medal at any Olympic Games. Directed by Taiwanese Canadian filmmaker Frank W. Chen, the 45-minute TaiwanPlus documentary, first released in July, also features Yang’s rival and teammate Rafer Johnson, who was the first Black flag bearer for the U.S. team. Yang and Johnson developed a friendly rivalry while studying and training at the University of California, Los Angeles.

“I think our film came out at a good time as we celebrate our athletes returning from the Paris Olympics,” Chen told Global Voices. “It’s my hope that our film serves to stir up the conversation, calling attention to the proper memorialization of our sporting heroes of the present and the past.”

Yang also won gold at the 1954 Asian Games in Manila and another at the 1958 Tokyo Asian Games. He died in Los Angeles on Jan. 27, 2007.