Ma Junren

Ma Junren (马俊仁, ca. 1944 – 2019) was a controversial Chinese athletics coach, best known for his success in training middle and long-distance runners in the 1990s. His "Ma's Army" (马家军, Mǎ Jiājūn), as his group of athletes was known, broke numerous world records in track and field events.

Ma's training methods were highly unorthodox and shrouded in secrecy, leading to much speculation about their effectiveness and ethical considerations. He emphasized high-volume training and reportedly relied on traditional Chinese medicine and a secret tonic, often attributed to the Cordyceps fungus.

His athletes, including Wang Junxia, Qu Yunxia, and Dong Yanmei, achieved remarkable success, dominating women's long-distance running during the early to mid-1990s. However, allegations of doping began to surface, casting a shadow over Ma's legacy and the accomplishments of his team.

In 2000, six of his athletes were dropped from the Sydney Olympics team after failing drug tests. A 2016 letter allegedly written by some of his former athletes, detailing systematic doping practices, further tarnished his reputation, although Ma himself always denied these allegations.

Despite the controversy, Ma Junren remains a complex and influential figure in Chinese athletics history. He significantly raised the profile of Chinese distance running on the global stage, but the ethical questions surrounding his methods continue to be debated. He died in 2019.