Wang Junxia

Wang Junxia (王军霞, born January 19, 1973 in Jiaohe, Jilin Province) was a Chinese famous long-distance runner. She was coached by Ma Junren until 1995 and by Mao Dezhen from 1995 to her retirement after 1996 Olympics.

Related Topics:
January 19 - 1973 - Jiaohe - Jilin Province - Chinese - 1996 Olympics

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Her best years lay between 1992 and 1996. In 1992, she beat Ethiopian Gete Wami to win the world junior champion in 10,000m (32:29.90) in Seoul, Korea. The golden but short glory came in 1993. In May, she broke the Asian record of 3000m in a fast time of 8:27.68 in the Chinese National Championships. In Augest, Chinese women distance runners under coach Ma Junren stunned the world and swept the world titles from 1500m to 10,000m (30:49.30) in Stuttgart, Germany. Wang claimed the world title in 10,000m although she was sick before the race. In less than a month, she went on to win the 3000m and 10,000m in Chinese National Games with 3 world records in 3 races. On Sep 8, she won the 10,000m final in a world record of 29:31.78 which is faster than the former record by 42 seconds and also the first-ever sub-30 minute performance in this event. On Sep 11, She finished second in 1500m behind her teammate, Qu Yunxia in another world record breaking race. Qu ran 3:50.46 (current world record) against Wang's 3:51.34 which still stands third in all-time list. In 3000m heats on Sep 12, Wang's teammates broke the 3000m world record in the first heat. This world record was just briefly held when it was erased by Wang in the second heat. The big moment came on the next day when she claimed the 3000m in another record time 8:06.11. She also won the World Cup Marathon Championships later in the year.

Related Topics:
Ethiopia - Gete Wami - Seoul - Qu Yunxia

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In 1994, she was awarded the Jesse Owens prize on the remarkable performances in 1993. She was the first and only Chinese and Asian person who won the prize. Although she won the Asian Games in 10,000m with a world-leading time (30:50.34) later in the year in Hiroshima, her world-record breaking form was obviously gone. In 1995, Wang and her teammates broke up with their coach Ma. After a short period of training on their own without a major success, Wang started to train under coach Mao Dezhen to prepare for the 1996 Olympics. In Nanjing, she announced a comback in the Olympics Trials where she ran quality times in both 5000m and 10,000m.

Related Topics:
Asian Games - Hiroshima - 1996 Olympics

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At the 1996 Summer Olympics, Wang won the new Olympic event, women's 5000m (14:59.88) and a silver in the 10,000m (31:02.58) just a second behind Portugese Fernando Ribeiro. She retired after the Olympics and married to Zhan Yu.

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Her coach claims that the fungus Cordyceps sinensis helps her physical condition.

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