SANYA, Hainan: Yang Yang, China's first-ever Winter Olympics gold medalist, will be the first to carry the Olympic torch when the mainland relay begins on Sunday, it was announced yesterday.

The torch arrives in Sanya on Saturday evening after it leaves Macau and ends its month-long overseas odyssey, Fan Xiaojun, director of the Hainan Cultural and Sports Bureau, told the media.

Yang, the 32-year-old speed skater, won gold in the 2002 Winter Olympics at Salt Lake City.