Leng Xueyan (; born 1972) is a Chinese former track and field athlete who competed in the

400 metres hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Olympic athletics programme since 1900 for men and since 1984 for women. On a standard outdoor track, 400 metres is the length of the inside lane, once a ...

. She was the

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 ...

champion in 1994 and runner-up at the Asian Athletics Championships in 1993. She set a personal best of 54.52 seconds in 1993. She was also an Asian Games gold medalist in the

4×400 metres relay Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

Career

Leng's first international medal came at the

1990 Asian Junior Athletics Championships The 1990 Asian Junior Athletics Championships was the third edition of the international athletics competition for Asian under-20 athletes, organised by the Asian Athletics Association. It took place from 13–16 June in Beijing, China. A total of ...

held in Beijing. She won the 400 m hurdles gold medal with a time of 57.79 seconds. This stood as the championship record for over a decade, finally being broken by another Chinese hurdler, Wang Xing, in 2004. She emerged as a senior athlete at the

1993 Chinese National Games File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The White House (Moscow), Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Cze ...

with a performance of 54.52 seconds to claim third place in a race won in an Asian record by

Han Qing Han Qing (; born 4 March 1970) is a Chinese former track and field athlete who competed in the 200 metres and 400 metres hurdles. Her personal best of 53.96 seconds in the hurdles is an Asian record, shared with Song Yinglan. She was the Asian ...

. This time ranked Leng tenth in the world for the event that season. Her senior international debut followed a few months later at the

1993 Asian Athletics Championships The tenth Asian Championships in Athletics were held in early December 1993 in Manila, Philippines. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medal table See also * 1993 in athletics (track and field) External links GBR Athletics {{Asian ...

. At the competition in Manila she led the Chinese challenge in the 400 m hurdles and took the silver medal behind Kazakhstan's Natalya Torshina. In 1994 she won her first and only national title at the Chinese Athletics Championships with a time of 56.28 seconds. This gained her selection for China at the

later that year. Leng defeated both Torshina and Hsu Pei-Ching of Chinese Taipei to become the Asian Games champion in the 400 m hurdles. She was the third Chinese woman to win the title, after inaugural winner

Chen Xin Chen may refer to: People * Chen (surname) (陳 / 陈), a common Chinese surname * Chen (singer) (born 1992), member of the South Korean-Chinese boy band EXO * Chen Chen (born 1989), Chinese-American poet * (), a Hebrew first name or surname: ...

(諶欣) and Chen Juying, who had won the previous edition. Her winning time of 55.26 seconds was an Asian Games record which lasted for twenty years. It was finally bettered in 2014 by

Kemi Adekoya Oluwakemi Adekoya (born 16 January 1993 in Lagos) is a Nigerian-born track and field athlete who competes for Bahrain. She specialises in the 400 metres hurdles and has a personal best of 54.59 seconds – a Bahraini record. In January 2019, it w ...

(a Nigerian-born runner for Bahrain). Originally, Leng had finished as runner-up to Han Qing, who was subsequently disqualified and banned for doping. She ran the lead-off leg of the

in a Chinese team of

Zhang Hengyun Zhang Hengyun (born 25 October 1974) is a former Chinese sprinter who mainly competed over 400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics (sport), athletics ...

Cao Chunying Cao Chunying (; born 8 May 1974 in Zhuozhou) is a retired Chinese 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 pl ...

and

Ma Yuqin Ma Yuqin (born 11 September 1972 in Xingtai) is a Chinese 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 championsh ...

and the quartet won the gold medal in a Games record of 3:29.11 minutes (Leng's second of the tournament). Despite being only 22 years old, this was the last major medal of her career and 1994 was the last time she ranked in the top twenty athletes globally.Xueyan Leng
Brinkster Track and Field. Retrieved on 2015-11-14.

National titles

* Chinese Athletics Championships **400 m hurdles: 1994

International competitions

Notes

* There are conflicting sources for her birthdate, with the IAAF listing 14 February 1972 and other sources listing 11 January 1972.Xueyan Leng

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

. Retrieved on 2015-11-14.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leng, Xueyan Living people 1972 births Chinese female hurdlers Asian Games gold medalists for China Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1994 Asian Games Medalists at the 1994 Asian Games Asian Athletics Championships winners Chinese Athletics Championships winners