Education
Her teacher in physical education told her to develop her technique, but her father and other teachers disapproved – Zhao had done very well in her studies and they wanted her to focus on more academic activities.
赵艳敏
Her teacher in physical education told her to develop her technique, but her father and other teachers disapproved – Zhao had done very well in her studies and they wanted her to focus on more academic activities.
She has a personal best of 52.49 seconds and was the gold medallist in the event at the Asian Athletics Championships in 2013. Born in Liaocheng, Shen County in China"s Shandong province, Zhao Yanmin was the only child of Ji and Gui, both of whom were fruit and vegetable farmers in the rural area surrounding the city. She discovered her talent for sprinting around the age of thirteen while competing in 100 metres and 200 metres races at school.
Zhao"s passion for sport grew, however, and after a good performance at the provincial schools championships she gained a scholarship to train at the Shandong Institute of Physical Education in Jinan in 2005.
At the age of fourteen she moved away from the family to live and train at the sports institute. In 2007 she was third in the 400 m at the youth championships and sixth at the Chinese Athletics Championships.
In 2010 she did a 200/400 m double at the Chinese junior championships and was second and third, respectively, in those events at the national championships. Her first international medal came that year at the 2010 Asian Junior Athletics Championships in Hanoi, where she was the 400 m bronze medallist.
A personal best of 52.62 seconds came at the 2011 Chinese Championships, where she again placed in the top three of both the long sprints.
She competed only on the national circuit in 2012 and peaked at the national championships with second in the 400 m and fourth in the 200 m. Zhao focused on the 400 m in the 2013 season and was rewarded with her first senior medals at the age of 22. A silver medal followed in the 4×400 metres relay.