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Yiheng Wang

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Chinese Rubik's Cube speedsolver (born 2013) In this Chinese name, the family name is Wang (王).
Yiheng Wang
Born (2013-12-16) 16 December 2013 (age 11)
NationalityChinese
Known forRubik's Cube speedsolving

Yiheng Wang (Chinese: 王艺衡; pinyin: Wáng Yìhéng; born December 16, 2013) is a Chinese competitive speedcuber. He currently holds the Rubik's Cube world record average of 4.05 seconds and third fastest 3×3×3 single of 3.27 seconds.

Cubing career

Wang entered his first World Cube Association (WCA) competition in September 2019, at age five. He won his first competition title in January 2021, at age seven. In August 2023, at age nine, he came within 0.01 seconds of winning the 2023 World Cube Association World Championship, finishing in second place behind Max Park and just ahead of Tymon Kolasiński.

On March 10, 2023, at nine years old, Wang set his first 3×3×3 world record average at a competition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with a time of 4.69 seconds. The previous record of 4.86 seconds had been held jointly by American Max Park and Poland's Tymon Kolasiński [fi]. Since then, Wang has set six more consecutive records in the event, lowering his time to 4.48, 4.36, 4.25, 4.09 seconds, tying his very own 4.09, then lowering it further to a 4.05.

Wang's global 3x3x3 dominance peaked in December 2024 when he held the 29 all-time fastest average performances, ranging from 4.73 down to 4.05 seconds. He currently holds 68 of the 100 fastest 3x3x3 averages, along with third fastest 3×3×3 single time, at 3.27 seconds.

Wang is also very skilled at the 2x2x2 cube event, and is currently tied with Zayn Khanani of the United States for the world record average, with a time of 0.92 seconds

2x2x2 world record average controversy

"Sliding" incident

On June 22, 2024 in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, Wang achieved a world record average of 0.78 seconds on the 2x2x2 Rubik's Cube. The manner in which Wang started the competition-standard StackMat timer drew criticism; frame-by-frame analysis of the solves revealed that Wang had touched or even begun turning the puzzle before lifting his hands off the timer in some of the solves, both of which constitute individual two-second penalties. The technique was dubbed "sliding" as it involves sliding the hands forward to greet the puzzle rather than lifting them up, thus temporarily keeping the timer from starting and recording a faster time. Despite possible evidence of regulation violations from frame-by-frame video analysis, however, only full-speed video analysis was considered valid evidence for penalization, due to a decision from 2019.

Initial statement from WCA Regulations Committee and Board of Directors

On September 27, 2024, the WCA Regulations Committee (WRC), responsible for deciding on such "unresolved and uncovered incidents", released a joint statement with the WCA Board of Directors on the matter; while the WRC announced that it would now use frame-by-frame analysis in certain cases such as world records, the Board concluded that Wang's solves "could not be conclusively determined to be in violation of the WCA Regulations, policies, and procedures which are in place at the time of the attempt, and cannot be retroactively applied to previous attempts". The decision was met with some backlash. It was considered unfair by some that Wang's solves, despite being considered illegal under the new procedures, would remain unpenalized; some also believed the Board to be overstepping their boundaries by making a regulations decision meant exclusively for the WRC. Concerns also arose over whether world records could still be achieved without resorting to a now illegal technique.

Leaked email and backlash

On September 29, 2024, a leadership crisis arose when an email written on the behalf of the WRC to the board was leaked anonymously. It revealed that the WRC had voted unanimously to penalize Wang's solves, but that the board had decided to overrule their decision, even suggesting that the initial statement not mention Wang's solves. Both parties cited bylaws and precedents that supported their decisions as final. The board received widespread criticism for this decision, prompting a community petition in favor of penalization which received 1,694 signatures and a Magna Carta-style petition from a WRC member calling for internal votes to remove members of the board.

Board decision reversal

On October 11, 2024, the board publicly returned penalization discretion to the WRC.

On October 25, 2024, the WRC announced that Wang's solves would be retroactively penalized, changing the result from 0.78 to 3.47 and thus partially stripping Wang of the world record title; his second-best average of 0.92 seconds from the same event is identical to the average set by Zayn Khanani of the United States at New Cumberland County 2024, meaning Wang and Khanani now jointly hold the record. Some of Wang’s other results, including a 3.38 second 3x3 solve and 0.49 2x2 solve, were also penalized. Results of other competitors proven to have used “sliding” were also given retroactive penalties.

External links

References

  1. "Rankings". World Cube Association. Archived from the original on 2024-09-13. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  2. ^ "Rankings | World Cube Association". www.worldcubeassociation.org. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
  3. "Shenzhen Open 2019 | World Cube Association". www.worldcubeassociation.org. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  4. "Chengdu New Year Morning 2021 | World Cube Association". www.worldcubeassociation.org. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  5. "Rubik's WCA World Championship 2023 | World Cube Association". www.worldcubeassociation.org. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  6. "Yong Jun KL Speedcubing 2023 | World Cube Association". www.worldcubeassociation.org. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  7. Atwal, Sanj (23 March 2023). "9-year-old Yiheng Wang solves cube in record-breaking average time". Guinness Book of World Records. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  8. Pandey, Nikhil, ed. (24 March 2024). "Watch: 9-Year-Old Chinese Boy Breaks Rubik's Cube Speed Record". NDTV.com. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  9. "Records | World Cube Association". www.worldcubeassociation.org. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  10. "3x3x3 Average Records - World Cube Association". www.worldcubeassociation.org. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  11. "3x3x3 Average Records - World Cube Association". www.worldcubeassociation.org. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  12. "Records - World Cube Association". www.worldcubeassociation.org. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  13. "[Public] Frame-By-Frame Analysis Report.pdf". Google Docs. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
  14. "WCA Regulations | World Cube Association". www.worldcubeassociation.org. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
  15. "Incident: A competitor stopped the timer with a "karate chop", only visible with video analysis | World Cube Association". www.worldcubeassociation.org. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
  16. "WCA Teams, Committees, and Councils | World Cube Association". www.worldcubeassociation.org. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
  17. "WRC Statement on Frame-by-Frame Analysis". WCA Forum. September 27, 2024. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
  18. "WRC Statement on Frame-by-Frame Analysis". WCA Forum. October 11, 2024. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
  19. "WRC Decisions with Frame by Frame Analysis | World Cube Association". www.worldcubeassociation.org. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
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