| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Born | 18 June 1994 Min County, China |
| Alma mater | Beijing Sport University[1] |
| Height | 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in) |
| Weight | 50 kg (110 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Country | China |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Event | Racewalking |
Medal record | |
Liang Rui (Chinese: 梁瑞; born 18 June 1994) is a female Chinese racewalking athlete who competes in the 20 kilometres and 50 kilometres race walk. She was the world record holder for the 50 km walk event and was a gold medalist at the 2018 IAAF World Race Walking Team Championships.[2][3] In 2019 her record was beaten[4] by Hong Liu with a time of 3:59:15.[5] In the same year, she finished outside the top ten in the IAAF Challenge races in Taicang and La Coruña, and was seventh in a national 50 km meeting.[6]
Liang competed nationally as a youth and placed third at the Chinese Universities Championships over 5000 m and 10,000 m distances in 2014.[6] She had her breakthrough at senior level in 2016 with a victory over the 20 km walk at the Asian Race Walking Championships, seeing off challenges from Kumiko Okada and Lee Jeong-eun. Her winning margin was over one minute and 1:28:43 hours was a lifetime best for the distance.[7] She competed in Chinese races only in the 2017 season, with highlights including a fourth place finish at the Taicang leg of the IAAF Race Walking Challenge.[6]
She made her debut over 50 km at the 2018 IAAF World Race Walking Team Championships and it proved to be a highly successful move as she won the gold medal in a world record time of 4:04:36 hours, taking over one minute off the previous record set by Inês Henriques. This made her the inaugural 50 km champion in the newly-recognised women's event, and she led the Chinese team of Yin Hang and Ma Faying to the first team championship also.[8][9] Later that year she won the 50 km title at the Chinese Autumn Race Walking Championships.[6]
- ^ 运动员梁瑞“走”出洛阳首个竞走亚洲冠军 . Lyd.com.cn. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
- ^ "Rui LIANG | Profile | iaaf.org". www.iaaf.org. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
- ^ "Marcia dal Mondo – Dettaglio News – 07/05/2018 – Taicang (CHN): Vittorie of Zhang Jun and Lu Xiuzhi in Chinese Grand Prix". www.marciadalmondo.com. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
- ^ "Olympic champion Liu breaks 50km race walk world record: IAAF". CNA. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
- ^ T&fn (17 March 2019). "Early-Year Walk Review". Track & Field News. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
- ^ a b c d Rui Liang. IAAF. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
- ^ Gurmeet Singh becomes first Indian to win Asian 20km Race Walk Championships. Times of India (20 March 2016). Retrieved 2019-06-30.
- ^ China’s Liang Rui smashes women’s 50km racewalk world record – at her first attempt. South China Morning Post (5 May 2018). Retrieved 2019-06-30.
- ^ Mulkeen, Jon (5 May 2018). Liang breaks world 50km race walk record at IAAF World Race Walking Team Championships Taicang 2018. IAAF. Retrieved 2019-06-30.