Qu Yunxia

Qu Yunxia (Chinese曲 云霞/曲 云霞, Pinyin Qū Yunxia; born December 25, 1972) is a former Chinese middle and long distance runner.

In 1990, she was Vice - Junior World Champion in the 1500 meter race. A year later, she won over the same distance at the Universiade bronze.

In 1992, she finished sixth at the World Cross Country Championships and won at the Olympic Games in Barcelona 1500 m bronze medal in 3:57,08 minutes behind the Algerian Hassiba Boulmerka ( gold) and the starting for the United Team of the CIS Russian Lyudmila Rogatschowa ( silver).

She was at the Chinese Marathon Championship second behind Wang Junxia which set a new Asian record in the same race in 1993. At the World Athletics Championships in Stuttgart she won gold over 3000m in 8:28,71 minutes before their compatriots Zhang and Zhang Lirong Linli.

In the Chinese National Games of the same year in which the women's world records fell in rows in the middle and long distance running, she broke the 1500m with a time of 3:50,46 min of the 13 -year-old record by Tatjana Kasankina ( 3:52,47 min). Over 3000 m, they remained a day later in the run with 8:12,27 min as well as the first place winner Wang Junxia ( 8:12,19 min ) by more than ten seconds under the old world record by Tatjana Kasankina. In the final, Wang was then even faster by six seconds ( 8:06,11 min), and Qu ran with 8:12,18 min as a Second. These four hours are still by far the fastest ever overflowed (as of 2012).

The supervised by the controversial coach Ma Junren athlete ended in 1997 after a series of injuries her career.

Personal Best

• 800 m: 1:56,24 min, September 9, 1993, Beijing
• 1500 m: 3:50,46 min, September 11, 1993 Beijing (current world record, as of October 2012)
• 3000 m: 8:12,18 min, September 13, 1993, Beijing
• 5000 m: 15:04,36 min, January 21, 1997, Shanghai
• Marathon: 2:24:32 h, April 4, 1993, Tianjin