General Interest |
| Awards and honours |
In 2015 and 2017 he was presented with the Sports Medal of Honour by the General Administration of Sport of China. (sport.gov.cn, 04 Jan 2017; sports.enorth.com.cn, 30 Jan 2015)
In 2012 he was named one of the Ten Outstanding Youth Athletes of Hubei in the People's Republic of China. (2012.163.com, 09 Aug 2012)
In 2011 he was named an Elite Athlete of International Class by the General Administration of Sport of China. (51wf.com, 27 Apr 2011)
In 2009 he was named Male Weightlifter of the Year by World Weightlifting Magazine. (qbaobei.com, 30 Jul 2012) |
Sport Specific Information |
| Name of coach |
Yu Jie [national], CHN |
| When and where did you begin this sport? |
He took up the sport in 1998 in Qianjiang, People's Republic of China. |
General Interest |
| Injuries |
Muscle strains forced him to withdraw from the 2021 National Games of the People's Republic of China. (sohu.com, 22 Sep 2021)
He sustained an injury to his waist area during the 2019 World Championships in Pattaya, Thailand. (sports.sina.com.cn, 24 Sep 2019)
He was forced to withdraw from the 2019 Asian Championships in Ningbo, People's Republic of China, due to an injury he sustained in training. (sports.sina.com.cn, 23 Apr 2019)
He suffered shoulder and back injuries in 2005. (2012.qq.com, 02 Aug 2012) |
| Superstitions / Rituals / Beliefs |
He believes the singlet he wore at the 2012 Olympic Games in London brings him luck. (olympic.org, 02 May 2016) |
| Famous relatives |
His wife Guo Xiyan has represented the People's Republic of China in weightlifting, claiming bronze in the women's 63kg clean and jerk competition at the 2009 World Championships in Goyang, Republic of Korea. (SportsDeskOnline, 12 Jul 2018; cctv.com, 26 Nov 2011) |
Sport Specific Information |
| Why this sport? |
His sports coach at school got him involved in the sport. He had competed in sprinting before taking up weightlifting. "I think my background in sprinting contributes to my explosiveness on stage when I'm lifting." |
General Interest |
| Most influential person in career |
Coach Yu Jie. (we.sportscn.com, 02 Aug 2012) |
Further Personal Information |
| Occupation |
Athlete |
| Languages |
Mandarin |
| Family |
Wife Guo Xiyan, two daughters |
General Interest |
| Other information |
OTHER ACTIVITIES
In September 2020 he became a member of the athletes' commission of the International Weightlifting Federation [IWF]. (barbend.com, 14 Oct 2020)
BUSINESS
In 2018 he launched a business selling his own line of barbells and sports equipment. (barbend.com, 22 Oct 2018; luxiaojunbarbell.com, 01 Jan 2021) |
Further Personal Information |
| Residence |
Beijing, CHN |
General Interest |
| Hobbies |
Watching movies. (Weibo profile, 01 Dec 2020) |
| Milestones |
He won a gold medal in the 81kg category at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo at age 37 years and four days, which made him the oldest athlete to win an Olympic weightlifting gold medal. His gold in Tokyo also made him the first Chinese weightlifter to win three Olympic medals of any colour in the sport. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Sep 2021) |
Sport Specific Information |
| Club / Team |
Tianjin: China |
General Interest |
| Ambitions |
To compete at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. (news.cn, 23 Mar 2022) |
Tokyo
Rio de Janeiro
London
Pattaya
Ashgabat
Houston, TX
Wroclaw
Paris
Antalya
Goyang
Tashkent
Ningbo
Fuzhou