Zhang Jun ( ; born 11 April 1983) is a male

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 ...

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete who competes in the

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

. He is the Chinese record holder outdoors with a throw of 20.41 metres and the Asian record holder indoors with a mark of 20.16 m. He has won medals at the

Summer Universiade The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad". The Universiade is referred t ...

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

Asian Athletics Championships The Asian Athletics Championships is an event organized by the Asian Athletics Association. History The competition courted controversy with the IAAF when political in-fighting arose after Israel was excluded from participation in 1977. That e ...

and the

East Asian Games The East Asian Games was a multi-sport event organized by the East Asian Games Association (EAGA) and held every four years from 1993 to 2013. Among those who competed included athletes from East Asian countries and territories of the Olympic C ...

. He represented China at the

2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was held between 12 and 14 March at the Aspire Dome in Doha, Qatar. The championships was the first of six IAAF World Athletics Series events to take place in 2010. Bidding and organisation Th ...

and the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. Hailing from

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

, he began competing on the senior

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

circuit in 2001 and threw over the eighteen-metre mark for the first time in 2005. He set an indoor personal best of 18.16 m to win at the Shanghai leg of the Chinese Grand Prix series and then improved to 18.36 m outdoors at the

Chinese Athletics Championships The Chinese Athletics Championships ( zh, 全国田径锦标赛) is an annual track and field competition which serves as the national championship for the People's Republic of China. It is organised by Chinese Athletic Association, China's nation ...

, where he eventually finished ninth overall. He had a best throw of 18.12 m at the 10th National Games of China and finished seventh. In 2007 he threw the shot 18.73 m to take second place at the National Grand Prix final. The 2008 season saw he near the top of the field nationally, as he threw an indoor best of 18.50 m to win at the Shanghai Grand Prix. He placed fifth at both the Chinese Olympic trials and the National Championships, but won at the Chinese Grand Prix final with a season's best throw of 18.64 m. Zhang made significant progressions in 2009. He had string of victories leading up to a personal best of 19.44 m to win the Chinese title. He gained international selection for the first time and improved his best further to 19.58 m to claim the

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

behind Soslan Tsyrikhov at the

2009 Summer Universiade The 2009 Summer Universiade, officially known as the XXV Summer Universiade, was celebrated in Belgrade, Serbia from July 1 to 12, 2009. The event has also been organised by a range of co-host cities mostly in Vojvodina (Serbian Autonomous Provin ...

. His performance was down at the 11th National Games of China (17.78 m for tenth place),Jalava, Mirko (2010-03-02)
National records fall as indoor season commences in China
IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-02-14. but he rebounded at the 2009 Asian Athletics Championships by taking the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

for China. His last major competition that year was the

2009 East Asian Games ) , Host city = Hong Kong , Teams participating = 9 , Athletes participating = 2,377 , Events = 262 events in 22 sports , Opening ceremony = December 5, 2009 , Closing ceremony = December 13, 2009 , Officially opened by = State Councilor L ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

and he broke the Chinese national record with his winning throw of 20.41 m (which was also a games record). His 2010 season began with a Chinese indoor record throw of 19.90 m in March, improving upon Ma Yongfeng's long-standing record from 1989. Zhang participated on the world stage for the first time later that month at the

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

and he finished tenth in the qualifying round. He performed well on the regional circuit, winning a number of Chinese and Asian Athletics Grand Prix meetings and clearing 19 metres on numerous occasions. His best throw outdoors that year was a put of 19.85 m to win the Chinese circuit final, which he followed with a win at the national championships.Zhang Jun (2010)
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2012-02-14. He placed third for China at the

DécaNation DécaNation is an annual track and field meeting organized by the French Athletics Federation (Fédération Française d'Athlétisme) since 2005. The competition comprises national teams of athletes competing in a decathlon, with each athlete compet ...

competition and closed the year with a silver medal at the

2010 Asian Games The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), was a regional multi-sport event celebrated from November 12 to November 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, although several events ...

. Zhang went undefeated on the Chinese Athletics Grand Prix circuit in 2011 and was the runner-up at the 2011 Asian Athletics Championships behind the Taiwanese thrower

Chang Ming-Huang Chang Ming-huang (; born 7 August 1982 in Taichung) is a Taiwanese discus thrower and shot putter. He has been focusing on shot put only since 2006. He trained in National College of Physical Education during his university study in Taiwan. ...

. Despite his strong form in China, he failed to give a valid throw at the National Championships that year. At the start of 2012 he became the first Chinese athlete to throw beyond twenty metres at an indoor meeting. His throw of 20.16 m in

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

represented a continental best, as it bettered the six-year-old Asian record mark set by Khaled Habash Al-Suwaidi.Jalava, Mirko (2012-02-14)
Zhang Jun’s Asian Shot Put record highlights Chinese indoor season opener
IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-02-14.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Jun Living people 1983 births Chinese male shot putters Athletes from Shanghai Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for China Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Asian Games Asian Games silver medalists for China Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade silver medalists for China Medalists at the 2009 Summer Universiade 21st-century Chinese people