Tian Yumei (; born 28 December 1965) 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 ...

former

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 eve ...

sprinter. Her personal best of 11.06 seconds for the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

was set in 1997. She was a three-time Chinese champion in individual sprints. She represented China in the 100 m at the Summer Olympics twice (1988, 1992) and also competed at the

1991 World Championships in Athletics The 3rd World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan between August 23 and September 1. 1517 athletes from 167 countries participa ...

. Her greatest achievements came at the regional level: she was a two-time gold medallist in the 100 m at the

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 100 m champion at the

1990 Asian Games ) , Nations participating = 36 , Athletes participating = 6,122 , Events = 308 in 27 sports , Opening ceremony = 22 September 1990 , Closing ceremony = 7 October 1990 , Officially opened by = Yang Shangkun , O ...

. She also won a bronze medal in the event at the

1992 IAAF World Cup The 6th IAAF World Cup in Athletics was an international track and field sporting event sponsored by the International Association of Athletics Federations, held on September 25–27, 1992, at the Estadio Panamericano in Havana, Cuba. Overall ...

and the

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

bronze at 1990 Asian Games. She enjoyed success with the Chinese 4×100 metres relay team from 1987 to 1993. She shared in the Asian title in 1987, 1991 and 1993, as well as the 1990 Asian Games title. The team competed at the

1992 Barcelona Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

and took the gold medals at the IAAF World Cup the same year.

Career

Born in Guangxi, she won her first international medals at the 1987 Asian Athletics Championships. She placed third in the

behind the more established

Lydia de Vega Maria Lydia de Vega-Mercado (; December 26, 1964 – August 10, 2022) was a Filipina athlete who was considered Asia's fastest woman in the 1980s. Athletic career De Vega was discovered in the Palarong Pambansa () in the 1970s, and was recrui ...

and

P.T. Usha Pilavullakandi Thekkeraparambil Usha (born 27 June 1964) is a retired Indian track and field athlete. She was born in Kuthali, Kozhikode, Kerala. She has been associated with Indian athletics since 1979. She has won 4 Asian gold medals and ...

but took the gold with the Chinese 4×100 metres relay team. She won the 100 m title 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 ...

the following year and gained selection for the

1988 Seoul Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

,Chinese Championships
GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2013-12-28. where she was a quarter-finalist.
Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2013-12-28. The 1990 season saw her win a 100/

double at the Chinese Championships and she ran in both events at the

. Hosted 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 ...

, Tian became the Asian Games champion in the 100 m individual and relay events, as well as taking the bronze medal over 200 m. She continued to succeed on the regional stage the following year as she won the 100 m gold and relay title at the 1991 Asian Athletics Championships – the team of Pei Fang, Tian,

Chen Zhaojing Chen Zhaojing (born 5 April 1969) is a former Chinese track and field athlete who competed in sprint events. She won four national titles in the 200 metres between 1991 and 1994. Chen also won the 200 m event at the 1993 National Games of Chin ...

and Xiao Yehua set a championship record of 43.41 seconds for the event.Asian Championships
GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2013-12-28. She was chosen to compete at the

, but again did not progress beyond the quarterfinals. Tian made her second Olympic appearance at the

. She reached the quarterfinals of the 100 m for a second time and also ran in the heats of the relay competition, alongside Gao Han, Chen Zhaojing, and Xiao Yehua. The quartet regrouped for the

held in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

and they claimed the women's relay time with a time of 43.63 seconds. Tian also won the individual bronze medal, running 11.44 seconds for third place behind home favourite

Liliana Allen Liliana Allen Doll (born March 24, 1970) is a track and field athlete, who started competing for Mexico in 1998. She previously represented Cuba. She won a bronze medal at the 1991 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 3rd IAAF World Indoor Cham ...

. The 7th Chinese National Games in September 1993 saw Chinese sprinting reach new heights: Tian set a personal best of 11.24 seconds for the 100 m but was beaten into second place by Liu Xiaomei, who broke the Asian record for the event with her run of 11.02 seconds. Tian also helped Guangxi to the relay National Games title. Three months later Tian defeated Liu in the 100 m at the 1993 Asian Athletics Championships to retain her regional title in a time of 11.36 seconds. The pair teamed up to secure the 4×100 m relay title for China for a fourth consecutive title. Tian did not appear on an international podium again after 1993. Her last outing at a major event was the 1997 Chinese National Games. She set a 100 m personal best of 11.06 seconds to place third behind Liu and Li Xuemei (the latter setting the current Asian record of 10.79 seconds). The games was seriously marred by doping – many champions were stripped of their titles and the overall level of performances remain questionable to international audiences. Tian was a relay silver medallist in the National Games with Guangxi and this proved to be her last major medal.8th National Games medallists
. jx918. Retrieved on 2013-03-29.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tian, Yumei Living people 1965 births Chinese female sprinters Olympic athletes for China Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1986 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1990 Asian Games Runners from Guangxi Asian Games gold medalists for China Asian Games bronze medalists for China Medalists at the 1990 Asian Games Medalists at the 1986 Asian Games Olympic female sprinters 20th-century Chinese women