Ma Yuqin (born 11 September 1972 in

Xingtai Xingtai (), formerly known as Xingzhou and Shunde, is a prefecture-level city in southern Hebei province, People's Republic of China. It has a total area of and administers 4 districts, 2 county-level cities and 12 counties. At the 2020 censu ...

) is a

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

sprinter who specialized in the 400 metres.

Early years

In 1988, Ma joined the Hebei Track and Field team. Her talent was revealed during the 1990 edition of the Asian junior championships. There, she took part in the 400 metres and the

4 x 400 metres relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

. In the 400 m, she won her heat in 55.25 seconds before claiming the final in 53.38 seconds, ahead of fellow Liu Youlan. Then, both teamed up for the 4 x 400 m with

Lu Ping Lu Ping (; 27 September 1927 – 3 May 2015) was a Chinese politician and diplomat. He served as Head of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China. He is best known as China's delegation head ...

and Leng Xueyan they to take the gold medal. In September 1991, at only 19, she improved Li Guilian's national record on 400 m of 52.13 seconds to 52.04 seconds, during the Chinese City Games held in

Tangshan Tangshan () is a coastal, industrial prefecture-level city in the northeast of Hebei province. It is located in the eastern part of Hebei Province and the northeastern part of the North China Plain. It is located in the central area of the Boha ...

Senior career

Ma participated in the 1992

IAAF World Cup The IAAF Continental Cup was an international track and field competition organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The event was proposed by IAAF former President Primo Nebiolo and was first held in 1977 as ...

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, her first international outing. There, representing Asia, she competed in the 4 x 400 m with India's

Shiny Abraham Shiny Kurisingal Wilson (nee Abraham, born 8 May 1965) is a retired Indian athlete. She has been a National Champion in 800 metres for 14 years. Shiny Abraham Wilson (Shiny Abraham) represented India more than 75 times in international com ...

and Kutty Saramma and fellow Cao Chunying. The team eventually finished eighth of the race in a poor time of 3:41.94. However, 1993 marked Ma's real breakthrough. In April of that year, she set the Asian record in the 400 m in a time of 50.94 seconds during a low-key meet in Shijiazhuang. A month later, at the National Championships in Jinan, she improved it to 50.86. She was subsequently qualified for the famous 1993

National Games of China The National Games of the People's Republic of China (), sometimes known as the All China Games (though not to be confused with the All-China Games), is the premier sports event in China at national level. It is usually held once every four yea ...

in September. On September 11, her 21st birthday, she broke her own Asian record, for the third time that year, clocking a world-leading time of 49.81 seconds. On September 12, she set a personal best of 22.95 seconds in the 200 m. On September 13, Ma anchored the Hebei's 4 x 400 m relay team featuring An Xiaohong, Cao Chunying and Bai Xiaoyun to break the Asian record in 3:24.28. Her records still stand today. She was then selected for the

Asian Championships An Asian Championship is a top level international sports competition between Asian athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. List of Championships (Summer Olympic Sports) ;Aquatics * Asia ...

in December in

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, where she easily won the 400 m title in 51.23 seconds. 1994 started off well for Ma as she successfully defended her National title in the 400 m in 50.45 seconds during the Chinese Championships held in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. This enabled her to participate in the Asian Games in Hiroshima. There, she stamped her authority in the 400 m by winning her heat in 52.35 seconds and then the final in 51.17. The Chinese 4 x 400 m, composed of Leng Xueyan, Zhang Hengyun, Cao Chunying and Ma won the event in 3:29.11. At the 1995 edition of World Indoor Championships, she competed with Zhang Hengyun, Lu Xifang and Cao Chunying on 4 x 400m. The team finished fifth and last of the race but set a new area record in the process. Her last appearance was in May 1997 where she ran a 400 m in 53.28 seconds.

Achievements

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ma, Yuqin 1972 births Living people Chinese female sprinters Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Runners from Hebei Asian Games gold medalists for China Medalists at the 1994 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1994 Asian Games Asian Athletics Championships winners People from Xingtai Chinese Athletics Championships winners