Inspired by first-hand advice from Michael Phelps, China’s Carl Yuan puts Paris 2024 firmly in focus

It’s been a feast-or-famine kind of year for Carl Yuan. He’s had two top-five finishes in his sophomore season on the PGA TOUR but also missed 11 cuts in his first 19 starts.

A trip to the 2024 Paris Olympics, where Yuan will represent China for the second time, looms large on the calendar, though. And the 27-year-old expects to gain inspiration when he gets to Paris in August and mingles with the world’s most accomplished sportsmen and women again.

“I’m excited to see all the other greatest athletes in the world compete,” Yuan said. “It's definitely a much larger thrill than me playing in a tournament, essentially, because (that) is what we do every day.

“And I’ve never really been to Paris or Europe much. So, that would be a whole new experience for me and I'm really looking forward to it.”

Yuan finished tied for 38th in Tokyo, an Olympics played without spectators due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though there was no gallery, the man known for a swing with a sometimes off-balance follow through, remembers the first-tee jitters when he was announced as representing China.

“It is probably as nervous as ever been on a golf course and, yeah, that's definitely something special,” he said.

Yuan, who is from Dalian, a city in the northeastern part of China, loved being part of the Opening Ceremonies in Toyko. And he distinctly remembers walking around the Olympic Village and seeing athletes with medals around their neck.

“And when you talk to them, they are super nice, even when they’ve just won a gold medal,” Yuan told the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation after the men’s competition concluded. “It’s great to interact with athletes like that, and it motivates me to be one of them.”

In Paris this August, Yuan is hoping to become the second person from China to win one of the coveted Olympic medals: Shanshan Feng, who once spent six months at the top of the women’s world rankings, won the bronze in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

Like Feng, who won 10 LPGA titles including the 2012 Women’s PGA Championship and retired in 2022, Yuan came to the United States as a junior to pursue his dream of professional golf. He trained at a golf academy in Lake Mary, Florida, and later played golf at Washington.

Interestingly, Yuan’s first Olympic experience delayed his ascent to the PGA TOUR.

He ranked 27th in the Korn Ferry Tour standings – two spots out of automatic qualification for the TOUR – when he headed to China for Olympic training in June of 2021. Between that, and China’s strict coronavirus quarantine protocols, he didn’t play again for the rest of the year.

In 2022, though, Yuan posted nine top-10 finishes, including a win at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open presented by MISTRAS, to grab the top spot on the regular season rankings and finally earn his PGA TOUR card.

Yuan told the Seattle Times that he had no regrets about putting his TOUR dream on hold to represent China in the Summer Games.

“Every athlete’s goal is to be in the Olympics and play for your home country,” Yuan said. “Definitely some sacrifices were made, but I came back this year and played strong.”

Yuan, who started playing golf when he was 10 years old, remembers watching the Olympics but says if someone had told him he would be competing for a gold medal: “I’d be like, wow, that’s crazy.” He’s looking forward to attending other events, especially swimming and track and field.

“It's weird, you see it on TV, they run a hundred meters, how quick they're running it,” Yuan said. “But when you see it in person, it is wild how fast they're able to move, and it kind of amazed me.”

Yuan was able to meet one of his favorites and the Summer Games’ most decorated male Olympian, Michael Phelps, at a golf tournament earlier this year. The swimmer won 28 medals – including 23 golds – before he retired in 2016.

“It’s pretty amazing just seeing him be dominant in the pool,” Yuan said. “It's for sure something special. And then I met him in person. He is a really cool guy. Very friendly. Huge interest in golf and, yeah, it was just awesome.”

During their exchange, Phelps asked Yuan if he was going to Paris.

“So, I said, ‘Yeah, I played in Tokyo; I plan to be in Paris,’” Yuan recalled. “He said, ‘Just keep working hard at it. All things will come together if you try hard enough.’”