Wang Junxia

Wang Junxia (January 19, 1973 -) is a Chinese middle-distance runner, nicknamed the "Oriental Sacred Deer". Born in Jiaohe, Jilin, he moved back to his ancestral home of Dalian, Liaoning when he was young. As an adult, he joined the long-distance runner Ma Junren of the Liaoning Provincial Track and Field Team (later known as the "Ma Jiajun"). In 1993, 20-year-old Wang Junxia performed well in many competitions at home and abroad, including winning the 10,000m at the World Athletics Championships and breaking the competition record. She won gold medals at the 10,000m, 3,000m and 1,500m silver medals at the National Games, setting world records three times in six days. She was selected as the first among the top ten athletes in the country that year, the Female Athlete of the Year by Track and Field News, and won the Jesse Owens International Cup of the World Amateur Athletes Association (IAAA). At the end of 1994, he led many teammates to forcibly leave the Ma Jiajun training base and broke away from Ma Junren's guidance. In 1996, he won the gold medal in the 5,000 meters and the silver medal in the 10,000 meters at the Atlanta Olympics. Retired shortly after the Olympics. After retiring, the inside story of Wang Junxia's sports career was gradually revealed, including repeated threats to her personal safety during the preparations for the Olympics, being forced to retire after the Olympics, and Ma Junren's use of rough means to control team members and forced use of banned substances, etc. The IAAF launched an investigation into Ma Jiajun's doping problem in 2016, but ultimately did not cancel the results of Wang Junxia and others. Her 10,000-meter world record remained until the 2016 Olympics, and her 3,000-meter world record remains unbroken. She was among the first athletes inducted into the IAAF Hall of Fame.