| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Wang Junxia | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Chinese | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | January 19, 1973 Jiaohe, Jilin City, China |
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| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | distance running | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal best(s) |
1500 m: 3:51.92 |
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Medal record
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Wang Junxia (simplified Chinese: 王军霞; traditional Chinese: 王軍霞; pinyin: Wáng Jūnxiá; born January 19, 1973 in Jiaohe, Jilin City, Jilin) is a Chinese former long-distance runner.
Wang was coached by Ma Junren until 1995 and by Mao Dezhen from 1995 to her retirement after the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Her best years lay between 1992 and 1996. In 1992, she beat Ethiopian Gete Wami to win the world junior championship in 10,000 m (32:29.90) in Seoul, Korea. The golden but short glory came in 1993. In April, she set a world-leading time and former Asian best in marathon (2:24:07). In May, she broke the Asian record of 3000 m in a fast time of 8:27.68 in the Chinese National Championships. In August, Chinese women distance runners under coach Ma Junren stunned the world and swept the world titles from 1500 m to 10,000 m in Stuttgart, Germany. Wang claimed the world title in 10,000 m (30:49.30), although she was sick before the race. In less than a month, she went on to win the 3000 m and 10,000 m in Chinese National Games with 3 world records in 3 races. On September 8, she won the 10,000 m 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 September 11, she finished second in 1500 m behind her teammate, Qu Yunxia in another world record breaking race. Qu ran 3:50.46 (current world record) against Wang's 3:51.92, which still stands fourth in the all-time list. In 3000 m heats on September 12, Wang's teammates broke the 3000 m world record in the first heat. This world record was just briefly held, when it was erased by Wang in the second heat. The next day she claimed the 3000 m in another record time 8:06.11. She also won the World Cup Marathon Championships later in the year.
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 10,000 m 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 due to prize money and his harsh coaching style. 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 comeback in the Olympics Trials where she ran quality times in both 5000 m and 10,000 m.
At the 1996 Summer Olympics, Wang won the new Olympic event, women's 5000 m (14:59.88) and a silver in the 10,000 m (31:02.58) just a second behind Portuguese Fernanda Ribeiro. Ribeiro made a heroic final lap kick that surprised Wang and perhaps because she us not used to being challenged, she was unable to react to it. In fact, not only did both women's performances better the previous Olympic record in the 10,000 m, they ran it in such high temperatures that officials were handing out cups of water in the middle of the race, like a marathon. She retired after the Olympics and married Zhan Yu.
The Guardian reported in 2001 that Wang lives anonymously in Beijing.[1]
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ingrid Kristiansen |
Women's 10,000 m World Record Holder September 8, 1993 – |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Preceded by Zhang Linli |
Women's 3,000 m World Record Holder September 12, 1993 – |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Awards | ||
| Preceded by Monica Seles |
United Press International Athlete of the Year 1993 |
Succeeded by Le Jingyi |
| Preceded by Heike Drechsler |
Women's Track & Field Athlete of the Year 1993 |
Succeeded by Jackie Joyner-Kersee |
| Sporting positions | ||
| Preceded by Yelena Romanova |
Women's 3,000 m Best Year Performance 1993 |
Succeeded by Sonia O'Sullivan |
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