"Fastest Nurse" Withdraws from Race, Sparking Controversy: Resigned and Won Two Championships, Earnings Exceed 200,000 Yuan
On April 19th, the Yilong Lake Half Marathon in Shilin, Yunnan Province started. Zhang Shuihua, once hailed as the "fastest female nurse," appeared as an invited athlete but chose to withdraw shortly after the start. She briefly explained her reason for withdrawing in a post-race livestream: "I felt unwell after running for a while, so I withdrew."
This withdrawal wasn't entirely unexpected. As early as January of this year, Zhang Shuihua's husband, Wang Ke, revealed in a livestream that Zhang Shuihua was not adapting well to the plateau environment. The Shilin area has an altitude of approximately 1420 meters, which is indeed a plateau region. Additionally, reports suggest that Zhang Shuihua sprained her left toe after finishing the Turpan Half Marathon in Xinjiang last week and hadn't fully recovered, coupled with a high density of recent races, leaving her in a state of fatigue.
Zhang Shuihua's withdrawal has sparked heated discussion online, with some netizens questioning her for "making an appearance and then withdrawing," but many runners understand her choice, believing that health is always the priority. As an invited athlete, Zhang Shuihua also served as a cultural and tourism promotion partner for Shilin, actively interacting with the audience and waving to them before the race, demonstrating a positive mental state.
Looking back at Zhang Shuihua's career transition, it's been remarkable. On January 2nd of this year, she posted a resignation video, officially leaving her position as a nurse at the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, with the caption "No regrets for the path I've taken, no fear of the new journey." In the short three months since resigning, she has participated in several marathon races with impressive results:
January 18th Chongqing Marathon: 2 hours 30 minutes 51 seconds, 6th place for women, 4th place domestically, winning a prize of 20,000 yuan.
March 8th Nanjing North Bank Marathon: 2nd place, winning a prize of 10,000 yuan.
March 22nd Lishui Marathon: Champion and broke the race record, winning a prize of 40,000 yuan.
March 29th Liuzhou Marathon: Champion, winning a prize of 30,000 yuan and a car worth approximately 100,000 yuan.
Notably, she won two consecutive championships from March 22nd to 29th, a span of 8 days, with combined rewards exceeding 170,000 yuan. Since resigning, Zhang Shuihua's prize money alone has reached 115,000 yuan, and with the car's cash value, her total income has exceeded 200,000 yuan. Furthermore, her commercial value has also risen, she was first selected for the Chinese Athletics Association's 2026 International Elite Athlete List on March 19th, and has signed contracts with brands like Ruian and Xtep since February, marking a glamorous transformation from nurse to professional runner.