Chinese programmer Huang Xuemei: First female runner to finish public marathon at Paris 2024 Olympics

Huang Xuemei, a programmer from Xiamen, southeast China’s Fujian Province, takes part in a running event at the 21st Xiamen Games. (Photo/Xiamen Daily)

Huang Xuemei, a 32-year-old programmer living in Xiamen, southeast China’s Fujian Province, crossed the finish line of the public marathon at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with a time of 2:41:03, ranking first among all female participants.

As the first-ever mass-participation marathon event organized in the history of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, the marathon, named Marathon Pour Tous, was held on August 11, Beijing Time.

A total of 40,048 runners from across the globe took part in the marathon. Huang was one of over 120 Chinese participants in the event.

Before her exceptional performance at the Paris 2024 Marathon Pour Tous, Huang was already well-known among marathon enthusiasts in China. She is a regular in many domestic long-distance running events, and is affectionately called the “queen of public marathons” by netizens for her outstanding performances.

Huang majored in computer science at Southeast University in Nanjing, east China’s Jiangsu Province. Since graduating, she has been working as a programmer at a bank in Xiamen.

Huang Xuemei, a programmer from Xiamen, southeast China’s Fujian Province, poses for a photo with her medals and trophies obtained in running competitions. (Photo/Xiamen Daily)

Born and raised in a remote mountainous area in Zhaotong, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, Huang never thought about becoming a professional athlete. She explained that since her academic performance was good, everyone she knew assumed she would keep ascending academic peaks and get a doctorate.

The lack of professional sports facilities has also limited the sports development of Huang and her peers. “I hadn't seen a 400-meter track until grade three in high school,” she said.

After entering Southeast University, Huang’s gift for long-distance running was discovered by a coach of the university. She then started practicing in her spare time.

Two years after her entry into the workforce, Huang resumed her habit of long-distance running as she felt she could now handle her workload as well as pursue her old hobby.

Photo shows Huang Xuemei, a programmer from Xiamen, southeast China’s Fujian Province. (Photo/Xiamen Daily)

In 2019, Huang participated in the 20th Xiamen Games and claimed silver and gold medals in the women’s 1,500-meter and 3,000-meter events, respectively.

In the same year, she also took part in marathons held in Xiamen, Beijing, and Guangzhou, continuously making breakthroughs in her performance by shortening the finishing time from 3:11:00 to 2:49:00.

In 2021, Huang claimed the women’s gold medal for the third consecutive year at the Xiamen Marathon with a time of 2:48:28.

Two years later, she shattered her own record with an astounding result of 2:32:16 at the Beijing Marathon, China’s most renowned running event.

When asked whether she plans to become a professional runner, Huang said she prefers to run as an amateur because she can better enjoy the sport freely without having to deal with the pressure a professional athlete may face.

Running is her way of relieving work stress during her free time, Huang said, noting that her current approach to running suits her.