She is widely recognised as the most successful Asian female runner of all time, after winning the Athens olympic gold medal in 2004.

A move to marathon running failed to revitalise her career, and Xing effectively retired in 2009.

Standing 1.66 m tall and weighing 50 kg (110 lb), she began training at Weifang City Sport School, coached by Chi Yuzhai.

Xing won the gold medal in the 10,000 m race in the track and field competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece with 30:24.36.

The combination of the injury and her long period away from competition raised speculation that her professional career was finished at the age of 26.