On a trip to New York in January to receive a prestigious international sports award, Chinese running phenom Wang Junxia, 20, told reporters that her daily regimen consists of up to 22 miles of running and a diet that usually includes worms, extract of caterpillar fungus, and the blood of soft-shell turtles.
Wang has broken so many world records that some suspected she was using illegal drugs, but tests have always turned up negative. Her coach, Ma Junren, insists her secret is the worm elixir, which he now bottles and sells worldwide, with revenues of at least $1 million.
Wang was coached by Ma Junren until 1995 and by Mao Dezhen from 1995 to her retirement after the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Her best years lay between 1992 and 1996. In 1992, she beat Ethiopian Gete Wami to win the 1992 World Junior Championships in Athletics in 10,000 m (32:29.90) in Seoul, Korea. The golden but short glory came in 1993. In April, she set a world-leading time and former Asian best in marathon (2:24:07). In May, she broke the Asian record of 3000 m in a fast time of 8:27.68 in the Chinese National Championships. In August, Chinese women distance runners under coach Ma Junren stunned the world and swept the world titles from 1500 m to 10,000 m in Stuttgart, Germany. Wang claimed the world title in 10,000 m (30:49.30), although she was sick before the race. In less than a month, she went on to win the 3000 m and 10,000 m in Chinese National Games with 3 world records in 3 races. On September 8, she won the 10,000 m final in a world record of 29:31.78, which is faster than the former record by 42 seconds and also the first-ever sub-30 minute performance in this event. On September 11, she finished second in 1500 m behind her teammate, Qu Yunxia in another world record breaking race. Qu ran 3:50.46 (current world record) against Wang's 3:51.92, which still stands fourth in the all-time list. In 3000 m heats on September 12, Wang's teammates broke the 3000 m world record in the first heat. This world record was just briefly held, when it was erased by Wang in the second heat. The next day she claimed the 3000 m in another record time 8:06.11. She also won the World Cup Marathon Championships later in the year.
In 1994, she was awarded the Jesse Owens prize on the remarkable performances in 1993. She was the first and only Chinese and Asian person who won the prize. Although she won the Asian Games in 10,000 m with a world-leading time (30:50.34) later in the year in Hiroshima, her world-record breaking form was obviously gone. In 1995, Wang and her teammates broke up with their coach Ma due to prize money and his harsh coaching style. After a short period of training on their own without a major success, Wang started to train under coach Mao Dezhen to prepare for the 1996 Olympics. In Nanjing, she announced a comeback in the Olympics Trials, where she ran quality times in both 5000 m and 10,000 m.
At the 1996 Summer Olympics, Wang won the new Olympic event, women's 5000 m (14:59.88) and a silver in the 10,000 m (31:02.58) just a second behind Portuguese Fernanda Ribeiro. Ribeiro made a heroic final lap kick that surprised Wang and perhaps because she was not used to being challenged, she was unable to react to it. In fact, not only did both women's performances better the previous Olympic record in the 10,000 m, they ran it in such high temperatures that officials were handing out cups of water in the middle of the race, like a marathon. She retired after the Olympics and married Zhan Yu.
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