Zhang Xiangxiang was born in 1983 in Longyan, Fujian. He is a member of the Chinese national weightlifting team and has won the bronze medal in the men’s 56kg weightlifting event at the 2000 Olympics and the gold medal in the 62kg event at the 2008 Olympics.
During the summer vacation when he was 9 years old, his parents hoped that participating in sports would help him build up his physique and lose weight, so they sent Zhang Xiangxiang to the Longyan City Youth Sports School, and that’s how he got involved in weightlifting.
In 1999, Zhang Xiangxiang became the only athlete selected for the national team while training in weightlifting in his spare time. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, he performed steadily and won the bronze medal in the men’s 56kg weightlifting category. After eight years of hard work and experience, he gave an outstanding performance and claimed the gold medal in the men’s 62kg weightlifting event at the 2008 Olympics.
It is worth mentioning that Zhang Xiangxiang is one of the few athletes in China with a master’s degree and also the weightlifter with the highest academic qualification in the national team.