June 11, 1983—a seemingly ordinary day. Yet it was immortalized in history by the remarkable feat of a Shanghai athlete: Zhu Jianhua. His name may be unfamiliar to many today, but in the 1980s, he was unquestionably a source of immense national pride—China’s pride on the world stage.
Let’s begin with that day: June 11, 1983.
At the Beijing Workers’ Stadium, the fifth National Games of the People’s Republic of China were underway, with track and field preliminaries in progress.
At the time, China had only recently regained its Olympic seat. Though national enthusiasm for athletic excellence was running high, the long absence from international competition meant that many sports still lagged behind global standards—particularly track and field, known as the “mother of all sports.”
Due to the physical limitations typically associated with East Asians in track and field events, coupled with outdated training methods, Chinese athletes were at a significant disadvantage on the global stage.
As a result, despite the national significance of the event, public interest was lukewarm—especially since it was merely a preliminary round.
But during this seemingly uneventful event, a thunderclap shattered the silence:
A Chinese athlete had just cleared 2.37 meters in the men’s high jump preliminaries!
The fifth National Games’ track and field preliminaries were progressing quietly, as most athletes simply aimed to qualify for the finals. By mid-session, most spectators had already left. Only athletes still awaiting their events and a group of high jump enthusiasts remained clustered around the thick foam mats—they seemed to sense something extraordinary was about to happen.
When Zhu Jianhua’s turn came, dusk was falling. The slender Shanghai athlete soared like a swallow over each height with ease, only grazing the bar once at the new Asian record height of 2.34 meters. Just as the crowd expected him to attempt that height again, Zhu suddenly declared in a resolute voice, “No more 2.34—I’m going for 2.37!” The stadium erupted. He was going for the world record.
The crowd fell silent. Every eye fixed on the high jump bar. Zhu Jianhua began his run counterclockwise, taking off with his left foot. This time, his approach, take-off, and clearance were incredibly swift. He tucked in his legs midair like lightning, and the bar remained completely still. His body had cleared it with at least 2–3 centimeters to spare.
The crowd froze for several seconds. When the realization sank in, thunderous cheers erupted as Zhu raised both arms in triumph. He knew that the world record of 2.36 meters—held by East Germany’s Dietmar Mögenburg—had just been broken.
At the time, the official world record stood at 2.36 meters. To break a world record—this was a moment the Chinese had long awaited. Track and field was among the weakest of Chinese sports disciplines, especially in events like men’s high jump, traditionally dominated by Western athletes. For Zhu Jianhua to break the world record was a cause of national jubilation.
Even more thrilling: Zhu was only 20 years old, a young man from Shanghai.
His name was Zhu Jianhua.
In truth, Zhu was not exactly an overnight sensation.
Born on April 1, 1963, in Shanghai, Zhu Jianhua showed no particular athletic inclination in his early years. Up until third grade, he occasionally played ping pong but engaged in no serious physical training.
But like a gifted horse awaiting a discerning mentor, Zhu was discovered by Hu Hongfei, a coach from the local youth sports school, who began training him in high jump.
From the age of 10, Zhu trained under Coach Hu, and he quickly demonstrated astonishing talent.
By 1979, at age 16, Zhu cleared 2.13 meters in the World Middle School Track and Field Games, earning a silver medal and setting a new national youth high jump record. In 1980, at age 17, he won the national high jump title with a jump of 2.21 meters. Later that year, at the International Youth Athletics Championships in Mexico, he won with 2.25 meters.
In June 1980, during the Asian Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Zhu easily cleared 2.30 meters, winning the title and breaking an 11-year-old Asian record—shocking the entire Japanese media.
At the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi, Zhu again surpassed himself with a 2.33-meter jump, breaking his own Asian record and ranking No. 1 globally that year.
And he was only 19.
At the time, Chinese media repeatedly used one phrase: “China has a successor in high jump.”
In China’s relatively weak track and field landscape, high jump had always been a bright spot.
In 1957, Chinese female athlete Zheng Fengrong used the “scissors” style to jump 1.77 meters and set a world record—the first for New China in track and field.
In 1970, Chinese male athlete Ni Zhiqin used the “straddle” technique to clear 2.29 meters and set a new world record. It was Ni’s record that Zhu broke in 1980, after it had stood for 11 years.
The baton of Chinese high jumping had finally passed to Zhu Jianhua.
Zhu first felt real pressure at the inaugural World Athletics Championships.
In 1983, the first-ever IAAF World Championships were held in Helsinki, Finland. Zhu carried the weight of national expectations.
As the world record holder, Zhu was naturally a top contender for gold.
But on the day of the final, the weather betrayed him—it rained heavily. The wet track and slippery surface resulted in Zhu managing only 2.29 meters, earning him a bronze medal—well below his world record. (The gold medal jump was 2.32 meters.)
Weather affects everyone, of course. That year, 14 athletes worldwide cleared over 2.30 meters, all facing similar challenges.
Some domestic media called it a case of “underperformance.”
But the significance of that bronze medal was far greater than it appeared:
It was China’s first medal ever at the World Championships in Athletics—and the only medal won by any Asian athlete at that meet.
A minor setback did little to temper national enthusiasm. Zhu quickly returned with an even more stunning performance that captured global attention.
On September 22, 1983, at the Fifth National Games in Shanghai, Zhu Jianhua—competing in front of tens of thousands of hometown fans—cleared 2.38 meters on his second attempt. world record was born!
Just three months after his last record, Zhu had done it again. That year, he was honored as one of China’s “Top Ten Athletes” and was named one of the world’s “Top Ten Athletes of 1983” by the Associated Press.
Of course, some skeptics still whispered: “Zhu excels in domestic meets, but not internationally.”
Was that true?On June 10, 1984, Zhu Jianhua participated in the world-renowned High Jump Elite Meet in Eberstadt, Germany. Competing against the best high jumpers globally, Zhu soared to a new height—clearing 2.39 meters.
Yet another world record!In just one year, this young Chinese man had broken three world records.All the doubts were silenced.On the global high jump stage of the 1980s, Zhu Jianhua had become an undisputed king.
