Born in Jiaohe, Jilin, Wang beat Ethiopian Gete Wami to win the 1992 World Junior Championships in Athletics in 10,000 m (32:29.90) in Seoul, Korea.

Qu's record remained on the books until it was finally beaten by Genzebe Dibaba of Ethiopia when she ran 3:50.07 at the Herculis meet in Monaco on 15 July 2015.

Ribeiro made a heroic final lap kick that surprised Wang and perhaps because she was not used to being challenged, she was unable to react to it.

In fact, not only did both women's performances better the previous Olympic record in the 10,000 m, they ran it in such high temperatures that officials were handing out cups of water in the middle of the race, like a marathon.

Yuan Weimin, former Director General of the State General Administration of Sports and Chairperson of the Chinese Olympic Committee, had confirmed in 2009 in his book that six athletes coached by her former coach Ma Junren were dropped from the 2000 Summer Olympics because they were tested positive for doping.

During the 2012 Summer Olympics, a journalist even lumped Wang and compatriot Qu Yunxia into a group of so-called "chemical sisters".

[7][8] On 3 February 2016, Tencent Sports exclusively published a March 1995 letter reportedly from Wang and nine other athletes under Ma's tutelage.

[9] Zhao Yu, the investigative author who had received the letter, said Wang and others came forward because Coach Ma had told them to take personal responsibilities, should they get caught.

[10] The IAAF was expected to discuss a proposal to wipe all pre-2005 world records in August 2017, due to it having only stored blood and urine samples since 2005.