Zhu Jianhua


Zhu Jianhua is a retired Chinese high jumper. His personal best of 2.39 metres is a former world record for the event.
In Helsinki 1983, Zhu became China's first man to win a medal in the IAAF World Championships. In the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, he became the first male from the People's Republic of China to win an athletics medal in the history of the Olympic Games. He is a two-time gold medallist at both the Asian Games and the Asian Athletics Championships.

Career

Dominating Asian high jumping in the early 1980s, Zhu won the Asian Championships in 1981, crushing the championship record by 15 centimetres. He repeated this at the 1982 Asian Games with a jump of 2.33 m, beating the previous games record by 12 cm. He retained his title in the 1986 Asian Games.
At the inaugural World Championships in 1983 and the 1984 Summer Olympics he competed against the world elite, finishing third on both occasions. Zhu's Olympic performance brought anger as well as pride back home in China – those disappointed he had not won gold, smashed the windows of his home.
On June 11, 1983 Zhu jumped 2.37 m, setting a new world record. He would go on to reach 2.38 and even 2.39 m, the latter on June 10, 1984. Prior to the 1984 Olympics Zhu cleared eight feet in practice, becoming unofficially the first man to clear this height. The world record stood until August 11, 1985, when Rudolf Povarnitsyn beat it by one centimetre. His 2.39 m jump in 1984 was the oldest Asian record among all Olympic events in athletics and lasted until 2013, when Mutaz Essa Barshim from Qatar jumped 2.40 m.
Zhu's indoor best of 2.31 m stood as the Chinese indoor record from 1986 until 2012, when Zhang Guowei jumped a centimetre higher.

Achievements