# Xue Changrui

Xue Changrui (Chinese: 薛长锐; born 31 May 1991) is a Chinese track and field athlete who competes in the pole vault. His personal best is 5.82 m. He was the champion at the Asian Athletics Championships in 2013 and at the Asian Games in 2014.

## Career

Born in Shandong Province, he originally started out in the long jump and set a best of 7.15 metres at the age of seventeen. He emerged as a pole vaulter in 2011 and after competing on the Chinese Athletics Grand Prix circuit he finished third at the Chinese Athletics Championships with a vault of 5.30 m. He gradually improved in 2012, winning the national Tianjin meet with a clearance of 5.40 m before finishing as runner-up to Yang Yansheng (another Shandong vaulter) at the national championships with a personal best of 5.60 m.
Xue began to establish himself as an elite level vaulter in 2013. Competing abroad for the first time, he achieved a best of 5.75 m in Nevers, France. He was second at the nationals in May but won the Chinese Grand Prix Final with a vault of 5.65 m (an outdoor best). At the 2013 Asian Athletics Championships the conditions for jumping were poor but he dominated the competition, winning the gold medal with 5.60 m, 40 centimetres ahead of runner-up Lu Yao.
On January 19, 2014, at the International Indoor Track and Field Games in New Orleans, France, Xue Changrui won the runner-up in the pole vault with a score of 5.70 meters. On February 5, at the indoor competition in Dijon, France, Xue Changrui won the pole vault championship with a score of 5.75 meters. On May 18, Xue Changrui won the third place in the pole vault with 5.62 meters in the IAAF Diamond League Shanghai Station. On May 21, Xue Changrui won the championship with a jump of 5.80 meters at the IAAF World Athletics Challenge Beijing Station, and broke the Chinese outdoor men's pole vault record of 5.75 meters held by Yang Yansheng. On September 15, at the IAAF Continental Cup held in Marrakech, Xue Changrui won the men's pole vault silver medal with a score of 5.65 meters. On September 28, in the men's pole vault competition of the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, Xue Changrui won the pole vault championship with a score of 5.55 meters.
On May 20, 2015, at the Beijing Station of the World Athletics Challenge held at the Bird's Nest in Beijing, Xue Changrui won the pole vault championship with a time of 5.40 meters.
On January 16, 2016, at the Indoor Pole Vault Classic held in Orleans, France, Xue Changrui won the championship with a score of 5.81 meters and broke the national indoor pole vault record of 5.80 meters held by Yang Yansheng. On June 15, at an international track and field event in Nancy, France, Xue Changrui won the pole vault championship with a score of 5.75 meters. In August, in the men's pole vault final of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Xue Changrui finished sixth with 5.65 meters.
He finished fourth at the 2017 World Championships in London, jumping a Chinese record of 5.82 m.

## Competition record

| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
| Representing China |||||
| 2013 | Asian Championships | Pune, India | 1st | 5.60 m |
| 2013 | World Championships | Moscow, Russia | 12th | 5.50 m |
| 2014 | World Indoor Championships | Sopot, Poland | 5th | 5.75 m |
| 2014 | Asian Games | Incheon, South Korea | 1st | 5.55 m |
| 2014 | Continental Cup | Marrakech, Morocco | 2nd | 5.65 m$^1$ |
| 2016 | Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 6th | 5.65 m |
| 2017 | World Championships | London, United Kingdom | 4th | 5.82 m |
| 2018 | World Indoor Championships | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 11th | 5.60 m |
$^1$Representing Asia