Dong Yue Yan

Dong Yue Yan is an Ariddian judoka. She is notable mainly for being the only Ariddian athlete to date to have participated in both Summer and Winter Olympic Games, having taken part in the second Winter Games in the skeleton event.

She is known also for her very slight build. 1m47 tall, she weighs only 39kg, and is classified in the super-lightweight category for judo. As this category was not recognised at the first Summer Olympics, Dong had to gain nine kilos in order to compete, then lose them again to return to her own category.

In the first Summer Games, at the age of 19, Dong lost her first match, against Julie Reed of Bedistan, and was eliminated.

She has also taken part in international Uhuhland judo encounters. In the First Uhuhland Judo Competition she lost her first match against Maxxe's Hepzibah Basmath. In the Second, however, she won a bronze medal by defeating her compatriot Cassandra Chenevert.

Her decision to compete in the Winter Games was greeted with some surprise, but she announced she had been training hard and was "grateful and proud" for the opportunity to represent her country.

At the Second Summer Olympics, she was defeated in the first round by Kelssek's Laura Ashton.

Dong has received significant public support from Ariddians, more for her determination and efforts than for her achievements. A young, tiny, frail-looking woman, she sometimes looks out of place among much taller, more heavily built athletes, and as such is seen to embody "a true Olympic spirit". Her success in putting on nine kilos in record time to take part in the first Summer Games also attracted much media attention.

Dong is married to Majed Jawdat, a primary school teacher, and lives in a suburban town near the city of Espérence.