Xue Changrui

Born in Shandong Province,^[2] he originally started out in the long jump and set a best of 7.15 metres at the age of seventeen. He emerged as a pole vaulter in 2011 and after competing on the Chinese Athletics Grand Prix circuit he finished third at the Chinese Athletics Championships with a vault of 5.30 m. He gradually improved in 2012,^[3] winning the national Tianjin meet with a clearance of 5.40 m before finishing as runner-up to Yang Yansheng (another Shandong vaulter) at the national championships with a personal best of 5.60 m.^[4]

Xue began to establish himself as an elite level vaulter in 2013. Competing abroad for the first time, he achieved a best of 5.75 m in Nevers, France.^[2] He was second at the nationals in May but won the Chinese Grand Prix Final with a vault of 5.65 m (an outdoor best).^[3] At the 2013 Asian Athletics Championships the conditions for jumping were poor but he dominated the competition, winning the gold medal with 5.60 m, 40 centimetres ahead of runner-up Lu Yao.^[5]

On January 19, 2014, at the International Indoor Track and Field Games in New Orleans, France, Xue Changrui won the runner-up in the pole vault with a score of 5.70 meters.^[6] On February 5, at the indoor competition in Dijon, France, Xue Changrui won the pole vault championship with a score of 5.75 meters.^[7] On May 18, Xue Changrui won the third place in the pole vault with 5.62 meters in the IAAF Diamond League Shanghai Station.^[8] On May 21, Xue Changrui won the championship with a jump of 5.80 meters at the IAAF World Athletics Challenge Beijing Station, and broke the Chinese outdoor men's pole vault record of 5.75 meters held by Yang Yansheng.^[9] On September 15, at the IAAF Continental Cup held in Marrakesh, Xue Changrui won the men's pole vault silver medal with a score of 5.65 meters.^[10] On September 28, in the men's pole vault competition of the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, Xue Changrui won the pole vault championship with a score of 5.55 meters.^[11]

On May 20, 2015, at the Beijing Station of the World Athletics Challenge held at the Bird's Nest in Beijing, Xue Changrui won the pole vault championship with a time of 5.40 meters.^[12]

On January 16, 2016, at the Indoor Pole Vault Classic held in Orleans, France, Xue Changrui won the championship with a score of 5.81 meters and broke the national indoor pole vault record of 5.80 meters held by Yang Yansheng.^[13] On June 15, at an international track and field event in Nancy, France, Xue Changrui won the pole vault championship with a score of 5.75 meters.^[14] In August, in the men's pole vault final of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Xue Changrui finished sixth with 5.65 meters.^[15]

He finished fourth at the 2017 World Championships in London, jumping a Chinese record of 5.82 m.^[16]

¹Representing Asia