Shi Zhiyong was born in Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in October 1993 and settled down in Cixi, Ningbo in 2004.

In November 2015, Shi Zhiyong became the champion at the World Weightlifting Championships. In August 2016, Shi Zhiyong won the gold medal in men’s 69kg weightlifting at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. In April 2019, Shi Zhiyong won the championship in men’s 73kg weightlifting at the 2019 Asian Weightlifting Championships.

On July 28, 2021, Shi Zhiyong won the gold medal in men’s 73kg weightlifting at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, breaking the world record.