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Yanjaa

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Yanjaa
Born
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Alma materStockholm Business School (Bachelor of Economics)
Occupation(s)Comedian, television personality, memory expert
Websiteyanjaa.com

Yänjaa Westgate, sometimes simply Yanjaa,[1][2] is a New York-based Swedish-Mongolian memory champion, comedian, and television personality.[3] She first gained international recognition for her achievements in memory sports before expanding into entertainment, appearing on numerous television shows, documentaries and performing stand-up and sketch comedy.[4]

Early life and education

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Born in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia with primarily Indigenous Siberian Buryat descent, Yanjaa grew up across multiple cultures. Her international upbringing included time on the Mongolian steppe, Stockholm, Tokyo, and Kenya, where she attended the Swedish School of Nairobi.[5] She graduated from Stockholm Business School with a degree in Business and Economics.[6]

Career

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Memory championships

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Yanjaa was originally inspired to compete after reading Moonwalking with Einstein by American author Joshua Foer, having discovered memory techniques while struggling with her university studies.[7] Within her first year of memory training, she won team gold and first place in names and faces at the World Memory Championships.[8] She achieved the title of International Grandmaster of Memory, becoming one of only 22 people to hold this distinction.[9] Her most notable achievements include breaking three world records: memorizing 212 names and faces in 15 minutes (2017), 360 random images in 5 minutes (2018), and 145 random words in 5 minutes (2018).[8] Together with Mongolian teammate Munkhshur Narmandakh, they became the first women in history to place at the world event, securing bronze and silver positions respectively out of over 130 contestants.[8] In 2016, she was invited as one of the top 200 Leaders of Tomorrow at the 46th St. Gallen Symposium in St. Gallen, Switzerland for her achievements in memory sports.[10]

Television and entertainment

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Yanjaa gained mainstream attention in 2017 when she became the "IKEA Human Catalogue," memorizing the entire 328-page catalogue in one week. The campaign garnered international media attention with press conferences in Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore, won both the people's voice and jury's Webby Award for best social media campaign in 2018.[11]

She has since appeared in several notable productions, including Netflix's The Mind, Explained (2019), a limited series narrated by Emma Stone, and HBO's How to with John Wilson (2020).[12] Her documentary Memory Games (2018) premiered to a sold-out audience in New York before being acquired by Netflix.[13] Her expertise in memory training and language learning has been featured in Today, The Guardian, and Wired, among other international publications.[14]

In 2020, Yanjaa hosted "Minnet", a Spotify-exclusive podcast exploring memory techniques with celebrity guests. She later transitioned into comedy, performing at venues across North America and Europe and winning several comedy competitions.[15] In 2024, she joined IFS - invandrare för svenskar (IFS - Immigrants for Swedes), a prominent comedy panel show on Sweden's national broadcaster SVT.[16]

Selected filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
2024 IFS - invandrare för svenskar Self - Comedian SVT, TV Series, Panelist[17]
2023 Superihmiset - piilotettua kykyä etsimässä Self - Memory Coach YLE, TV Series[18]
2020 How to with John Wilson Self HBO, TV Series[19]
2019 The Mind, Explained Self - Memory Champion Netflix, TV Series[20]
2019 Smartare än en femteklassare Self - Contestant TV Series[21]
2018 Memory Games Self Netflix documentary[22]
2017–2018 Pickler & Ben Self TV Series, 3 episodes[23]
2017–2018 Steve Self - Memory Expert TV Series, 2 episodes[24]
2017 The Brain Self - Contestant Chinese TV Series[25]
2017 Talang Self - Golden Buzzer Recipient, Finalist TV Series, 3 episodes[26]
2016 How to Remember Everything Self ITV documentary[27]
2015 Masterminds Self SVT documentary[28]

Records and achievements

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  • World Memory Championships: 18th overall (2014), 8th place (2015), 3rd overall (2017)
  • National Championships: Bronze medal (2014), Silver medal (2015)
  • Highest World Ranking: No. 7 (September 2018)

As of 2018, Yanjaa holds three world records in memory sports:

  • 15-minute Names & Faces: 212 names (2017)
  • 5-minute Random Images: 360 images (2018)
  • 5-minute Random Words: 145 words (2018)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "How to avoid losing your memory in the digital age | Memory | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
  2. ^ "5 Things I learned from Memory World Champion Yanjaa Westgate". jenshahade.substack.com. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  3. ^ "What they're saying: Live arts in Brooklyn this week". brooklyneagle.com. Retrieved November 19, 2024. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  4. ^ Radio, Sveriges (August 14, 2015). "Yanjaa är minnesvärldsmästare – Kossornas planet". Sveriges Radio. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  5. ^ "AMA African living in Africa". reddit. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  6. ^ "Yanjaa". The SBS Student Blog. September 6, 2013. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  7. ^ AE Mind Academy | Luis Angel (December 18, 2016), Yanjaa – Names and Faces World Record, retrieved April 18, 2017
  8. ^ a b c "World Memory Championships 2017 in Jakarta, Indonesia".
  9. ^ "Special Title". iam-stats.com. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  10. ^ "St. Gallen Symposium Magazine 46". issuu. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  11. ^ "The IKEA Human Catalogue | The Webby Awards". Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  12. ^ "Memory Games | Netflix". www.netflix.com. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  13. ^ Corporate Relations And Communications (October 19, 2016), Transforming the mind – Training a new generation of 21st century leaders, retrieved April 18, 2017
  14. ^ "Svensk 21-åring satte världsrekord i minnestävling". DN.SE (in Swedish). Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  15. ^ "What they're saying: Live arts in Brooklyn this week". brooklyneagle.com. Retrieved November 19, 2024. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  16. ^ "IFS - invandrare för svenskar". svtplay.se. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  17. ^ "IFS - invandrare för svenskar". svtplay.se. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  18. ^ "Yanjaa Wintersoul - IMDb". imdb.com. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  19. ^ "Yanjaa Wintersoul - IMDb". imdb.com. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  20. ^ "Yanjaa Wintersoul - IMDb". imdb.com. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  21. ^ "Yanjaa Wintersoul - IMDb". imdb.com. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  22. ^ "Yanjaa Wintersoul - IMDb". imdb.com. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  23. ^ "Yanjaa Wintersoul - IMDb". imdb.com. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  24. ^ "Yanjaa Wintersoul - IMDb". imdb.com. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  25. ^ 最强大脑 第四季 2017 (April 2, 2017), 《最强大脑 第四季 》20170331 妍佳VS余奕沛：挑战项目基因密码 – 2017.03.31, retrieved April 2, 2017{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  26. ^ "Yanjaa Wintersoul - IMDb". imdb.com. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  27. ^ "How to Remember Everything! New ITV film – The World Memory Championships". The World Memory Championships. December 1, 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  28. ^ Linus Lindahl (October 18, 2015), Masterminds (Sveriges bästa minnen), retrieved April 18, 2017
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