| Rank | Event | Year | Location | Result |
| Olympic Games | ||||
| 1 | 10m Air Rifle | 2004 | Athens, GRE | 702.7 |
| 2 | 10m Air Rifle | 2008 | Beijing, CHN | 699.7 |
| World Championships | ||||
| 3 | 10m Air Rifle | 2006 | Zagreb, CRO | 697.9 |
| 4 | 10m Air Rifle | 2010 | Munich, GER | 698.9 |
| Asian Games | ||||
| 1 | 10m Air Rifle | 2010 | Guangzhou, CHN | 702.0 |
| 3 | 50m Rifle 3 Positions | 2010 | Guangzhou, CHN | 1262.3 |
| Asian Championships | ||||
| 1 | 10m Air Rifle | 2011 | Kuwait City, KUW | 700.2 |
| 2 | 10m Air Rifle | 2012 | Doha, QAT | 700.8 |
| 2 | 10m Air Rifle | 2009 | Doha, QAT | 700.7 |
| World Cup Final | ||||
| 1 | 10m Air Rifle | 2011 | Wroclaw, POL | 703.8 |
| 1 | 10m Air Rifle | 2009 | Wuxi, CHN | 701.7 |
| 3 | 10m Air Rifle | 2008 | Bangkok, THA | 702.3 |
| World Cup | ||||
| 1 | 10m Air Rifle | 2011 | Munich, GER | 703.0 |
| 1 | 50m Rifle 3 Positions | 2011 | Fort Benning, GA, USA | 1280.4 |
| 1 | 50m Rifle 3 Positions | 2011 | Sydney, NSW, AUS | 1271.4 |
| 1 | 10m Air Rifle | 2010 | Fort Benning, GA, USA | 703.1 |
| 1 | 10m Air Rifle | 2009 | Milan, ITA | 699.1 |
| 1 | 10m Air Rifle | 2009 | Changwon, KOR | 700.3 |
| 2 | 10m Air Rifle | 2010 | Beijing, CHN | 701.2 |
| 2 | 10m Air Rifle | 2009 | Beijing, CHN | 699.3 |
| 3 | 10m Air Rifle | 2011 | Fort Benning, GA, USA | 700.4 |
| 3 | 10m Air Rifle | 2009 | Munich, GER | 700.6 |
Nickname
Magic Boy (data.sports.163.com, updated till 2010)
Occupation
Student
Education
Management - National University of Chekiang, Hangzhou, CHN
Family
Fiancee Chen Zhengjie
Language(s) spoken
Chinese
Club name
Zhejiang, China
Coach
Chang Jingchun (CHN) from 2003 (issf-sports.org, 15 Feb 2012; 2008.qq.com, 18 Jul 2008)
Handedness
Right (issf-sports.org, 13 Apr 2010)
Injuries
Just two months prior to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing he was required to have an appendectomy. (cri.cn, 2 Jul 2008)
Additional information
Start of sporting career
He took up the sport in 1999, in Wenzhou, China. (china.org.cn, 2 Jul 2008)
Reason for taking up this sport
He liked playing with toy guns when he was a little boy. His first coach, You Xiuxia, appreciated his talents and recommended he start serious training in shooting when he was in middle school. (cri.cn, 2 Jul 2008; news.titan24.com, 11 Aug 2008)
Ambitions
"I am fighting for two gold medals at the London Olympic Games." (news.cntv.cn, 25 Mar 2011)
Awards
Won Chinese Laurels Best New Athlete Award in March, 2005 (data.sports.163.com, updated till 2010)
General
2008 OLYMPIC PRESSURE
The weight of a nation's expectation became too much for him at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, where he wept on the podium and sobbed uncontrollably at the news conference after winning a silver medal in the men's 10m air rifle. He was a hot favourite to defend his title but clearly looked strained throughout the competition. "I was under tremendous pressure and at times I felt really agitated," he said. "After 2004 my only target was to defend my title. I had so very much wanted to be a champion at the Beijing Olympics." (reuters.com, 11 Aug 2008)
2004 OLYMPIC GOLD
At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens he wasn't performing up to standards in practice, which prompted his coach Chang Jingchun to give him a much-needed reality check. "After being scolded by my coach, I calmed down and cleared my head. In the match the next day, I felt very relaxed and sure-footed," he said. After making it to the final he performed steadily and intently before finally winning the 10m Air Rifle Championship. After the competition, Zhu was still immersed in the match and did not realise he had won gold until his coach told him. (cri.cn, 13 Apr 2010)
EARLY HOPES
He originally hoped that shooting would help him gain admission to a good university. "You have to attend a good university if you want to be academically successful. However, it was difficult for me to get into one considering the conditions in which I was raised. So I wanted to take a chance with sports. My goal was to better my life by becoming the national champion." (cri.cn, 2 Jul 2008; news.titan24.com, 11 Aug 2008)
Previous Olympics
Beijing 2008, Athens 2004
