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Iolanda ChenSports commentator
Date of Birth: 26.07.1961
Country:  Russia |
Content:
Biography of Yolanda Chen
Early Life and CareerYolanda Chen is a Soviet and Russian athlete who began her career in pentathlon but later switched to long jump and triple jump. She became the World Indoor Champion in triple jump in 1995, setting a world record with a jump of 15.03 meters. She was awarded the title of Honored Master of Sports of Russia. Yolanda's mother is Russian, while her father, Evgeny Chen, was a Soviet athlete who was half Chinese and the grandson of a Chinese diplomat and foreign minister in the 1920s-1930s. Yolanda was named after her paternal great-aunt, Yolanda Yevgenyevna Chen, who was a cinematographer. She attended Polytechnic School No. 210 (now School 1570) together with singer Alexander Ivanov from the group "Rondo". Initially, she practiced figure skating but later switched to track and field athletics at her father's insistence. Yolanda has been married multiple times, first to Vladimir Trofimenko, a European champion in pole vault, and then to Nikolai Chernetsky, an Olympic champion in the 4x400m relay.
Television Career
After retiring from her athletic career, Yolanda Chen pursued a career in television as a sports presenter and commentator. She began her television career in 1996 on the newly established STS channel with the help of its sports producer at the time, Vasily Kiknadze. From December 1996 to 1997, she hosted the program "Sports on the Edge" on this channel. Yolanda was the first Russian female athlete to agree to pose for the cover of the Russian edition of the internationally renowned men's magazine Playboy.
Following the closure of the program and changes in the broadcasting concept on STS in 1997, Yolanda Chen was invited to collaborate by sports commentator Anna Dmitrieva. After that, Yolanda became a sports commentator for NTV-Plus production channels and also a commentator for sports programs and host of sports news in the information program "Segodnya" on NTV channel. She worked as a commentator at the Olympic Games in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2018, and 2021. She covered sports such as athletics, shooting, and biathlon. Due to the events surrounding the "NTV Case" in April 2001, Yolanda Chen left the sports editorial office of NTV along with the entire staff of the television company. From spring 2001 to January 2002, she was the host of the sports block in the programs "Segodnya" and "Seychas" on TV-6. In February 2002, Yolanda Chen was among the correspondents of "NTV-Plus", covering the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. She was the host of the programs "Zvezdnyy Vtornik" and "Sport i..." on NTV-Plus Sport.
From June to the end of 2002, she briefly returned to hosting sports news in the program "Segodnya" on NTV but left for personal reasons. From the end of 2002 to June 2003, she worked as the host of the sports block in the information programs on TVS channel. From 2001 to 2003, Yolanda also occasionally appeared as the host of the humor program "Tushite Svet" on TV-6 and TVS. After the closure of TVS, she continued to work as a sports commentator and host of programs on NTV-Plus channels. In May 2004, Yolanda Chen made her debut as a correspondent for the NTV program "Namedni", presenting her report on liposuction. In August 2004, her report on the preparation of journalists for the Olympic Games in Athens was shown as part of the "Segodnya" information program.
From 2009 to 2013, together with Vasily Parnyakov and Rodion Gataullin, Yolanda Chen was the author and host of the information-analytical program "Queen on Plus" on NTV-Plus Sport channel. She also worked as a sports commentator for the Russian version of Eurosport. In February 2014, Yolanda Chen hosted the "Olympic Channel" from Sochi on the "Sport Plus" channel, alongside Vladimir Molchanov.
Since November 2015, Yolanda has been working as a commentator for athletics, ski jumping, and figure skating on the Match TV channel. In January 2016, she was separated from the staff of the channel, along with Vasily Utkin, Alexey Andronov, Kirill Dementyev, and other well-known sports journalists and commentators.