Shouming Yan is a Chinese IFBB Pro League Men’s Open bodybuilder whose career comes with a paperwork twist. Many official results list him as Liang Yan, but the two names belong to the same athlete. 🇨🇳
The record books split his name before they ever split his career. Under either form, this is one man: a super-heavyweight from China who has reached two professional podiums and is still chasing his first pro win.
His verified record runs from Bucharest in 2022 to a third-place finish in Beijing in 2025. He has never competed at the Mr. Olympia, and this biography does not pretend otherwise.
📋 Quick Facts
| Full Name | Shouming Yan (闫首鸣) |
| Also Listed As | Liang Yan in several IFBB Pro League records |
| Country | China |
| Division | IFBB Pro League Men’s Open Bodybuilding |
| Date of Birth | Not published |
| Height | Not published |
| Weight | Not published |
| Pro Card | Not documented in the primary sources checked |
| Earliest Documented Pro Result | 7th, 2022 Romania Muscle Fest Pro |
| Pro Wins | 0 |
| Best Pro Results | 3rd, 2023 Japan Pro; 3rd, 2025 Huanji China Pro |
| Mr. Olympia Appearances | 0 |
| Last Verified Contest | 22 June 2025, Huanji China Pro, Beijing |
| @liangyan_china | |
| Status in 2026 | Inactive; no retirement announcement |
Note: No primary source checked for this biography publishes Yan’s date of birth, height or official competition weight. They are therefore listed as “Not published” rather than filled in with guesses.
🌱 Early Years and the Amateur Road
The reliable public trail begins in China, not with the long list of domestic titles repeated by older biography pages. Yan’s own Instagram preserves photos from the 2019 Olympia Amateur China and the 2020 Golden Times show.
He did not attach placings to those posts, so none are claimed here. What they do show is an athlete building toward the international stage long before the IFBB Pro League record began. 💪
🇷🇴 Romania 2022: The First Documented Pro Result
Yan travelled to Bucharest for the Romania Muscle Fest weekend in November 2022. Posts from 12 November placed him in the super-heavyweight amateur class chasing a pro card, followed by an announcement that he would compete in the professional show.
The next day, the professional results listed Liang Yan in seventh place. Behrooz Tabani won the show, with Brett Wilkin second and Enrico Hoffmann third.
No primary source found for this biography separately documents the card-awarding result. The honest wording is therefore simple: Romania produced Yan’s earliest documented pro result, and he was already an IFBB Pro League athlete by 13 November 2022.
The result stayed with him. In June 2023, Yan posted that he intended to improve on the previous year and “never get 7th place ever” — a direct link between his own account and the placing recorded under Liang Yan. 🔥
🏆 2023: Three Shows, Three Countries and a First Podium
Yan’s busiest professional season came in 2023. It began at the Flex Weekend Pro in Milan on 10 September, where the official IFBB scorecard listed competitor No. 19 as Liang Yan of China.
He placed fourth with a total score of 26, behind Nathan De Asha, Regan Grimes and Roman Fritz. Blessing Awodibu was fifth, making Yan’s top-four finish a serious result in a strong Open field.
Fellow Chinese pro Chao Peng also competed at that Milan event, placing sixth in Men’s Physique. The same weekend therefore featured Chinese athletes in two different professional divisions.
Yan then placed sixth at the EVLS Prague Pro on 17–18 November. Samson Dauda won that show, and Yan’s scorecard total was 62.
One week later came the breakthrough. At the Japan Pro in Tokyo on 26 November, Yan finished third, behind Theo Leguerrier and Alfred Chiriac, for the first podium of his professional career. 🥉
The Tokyo event produced the same placing in another division: Juxian He finished third in Men’s Physique. Yan’s third place, however, was recorded under the name Liang Yan.
🇺🇸 Chicago 2024: A Difficult American Trip
Yan’s only documented professional appearance in 2024 came at the Chicago Pro on 19–20 July. He placed ninth in a Men’s Open contest won by Mohamed Foda.
Afterward, Yan explained that sudden gastroenteritis and hemorrhoids had left him in a very poor state during the competition. He still completed his showcase and said he would keep working with his coach.
Chicago was not the result he wanted, but it added an important line to the record: Yan had now competed professionally in Europe, Asia and North America. 🌍
🏠 Beijing 2025: A Podium on Home Soil
Yan returned to the stage at the Huanji China Pro in Beijing on 22 June 2025. This time the results used the name Shouming Yan, and he placed third behind Chenglong Shen and Andrea Presti.
It was his second professional podium and his best result on home soil. BarBend’s preview even paused to explain that Shouming Yan had been listed as Liang Yan in previous contests — the clearest public acknowledgement of the split record. 🇨🇳
The wider Huanji series underlined how active China’s professional scene had become. Mengyi Liu had won the Beijing Men’s Physique title in December 2024, while China-based Ghanaian pro Carlos Asiedu Ocran finished second at the Xi’an stop in September 2025.
📊 Verified Contest Record
| Date | Contest | Division | Place | Name Used |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Nov 2022 | Romania Muscle Fest Pro, Bucharest | Men’s Open | 7th | Liang Yan |
| 10 Sep 2023 | Flex Weekend Pro, Milan | Men’s Open | 4th | Liang Yan |
| 17–18 Nov 2023 | EVLS Prague Pro, Prague | Men’s Open | 6th | Liang Yan |
| 26 Nov 2023 | Japan Pro, Tokyo | Men’s Open | 3rd 🥉 | Liang Yan |
| 19–20 Jul 2024 | Chicago Pro, Chicago | Men’s Open | 9th | Liang Yan |
| 22 Jun 2025 | Huanji China Pro, Beijing | Men’s Open | 3rd 🥉 | Shouming Yan |
That is six verified professional contests, two podium finishes, zero pro wins and zero Mr. Olympia appearances. Qualifying talk should never be confused with actually standing on the Olympia stage.
🔎 Shouming Yan in 2026: Quiet, but Not Retired
No 2026 professional appearance by Yan was documented in the results and scorecards checked for this update. His last verified contest remains the Beijing podium on 22 June 2025.
His most recent Instagram post was published on 27 September 2025. After three months without an update, he reported a fasted weight of 272 lb and said he had been reflecting on the balance between bodybuilding, work and lifestyle.
That 272 lb figure was his own offseason report, not an official competition weight. In the same post, he said coach Chris Aceto had encouraged him after the Huanji China Pro and believed he had the tools to win a professional show.
Yan sounded focused on giving training and diet his full attention, not like a man announcing the end. Still, no new contest followed in 2026, and he did not compete at the 2026 Mr. Olympia in Las Vegas, where Nick Walker won the Men’s Open title.
2026 verdict: inactive, with no retirement announcement. The door is not formally closed, but the first pro win he has chased since 2022 is still missing. ⏳
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Is Shouming Yan the same person as Liang Yan?
Yes. BarBend identified Shouming Yan as the athlete listed as Liang Yan in previous contests, and Yan’s own Instagram documents the same Romania, Milan, Prague, Chicago and Beijing shows found under the two names.
When did Shouming Yan earn his IFBB pro card?
The exact card-awarding show is not documented in the primary sources checked. He was already an IFBB Pro League professional by 13 November 2022, when he placed seventh at the Romania Muscle Fest Pro.
How many professional shows has Shouming Yan won?
None so far. His best professional results are third place at the 2023 Japan Pro and third place at the 2025 Huanji China Pro in Beijing.
Has Shouming Yan competed at Mr. Olympia?
No. He has no Mr. Olympia appearances and has not earned a qualification. Yan is still seeking the first professional win of his career.
What was Shouming Yan’s last competition?
He placed third at the Huanji China Pro in Beijing on 22 June 2025. No 2026 appearance was documented in the sources checked, and he has not announced his retirement.
What are Shouming Yan’s height and weight?
Neither is published in the official contest sources checked, so both are listed as “Not published.” His self-reported fasted offseason weight was 272 lb in September 2025, but that is not an official stage weight.
🏁 Final Word
Shouming Yan’s career is easy to underestimate if only half of it is found. Search one name and the podiums appear incomplete; search the other and the man behind them can seem to disappear.
Together, the records tell a clearer story: six pro shows across three continents, a fourth place in Milan, podiums in Tokyo and Beijing, and an athlete still defined by the win he has not yet taken.
What remains missing is not proof of belonging, but the one result that changes everything. Until Yan wins a professional show, the Olympia stage will remain the next — and hardest — step. 💪