Female swimmer Zhang Yan was born in 1985 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. She entered Hangzhou Sports School (Shangcheng District) in 1991 and then joined Zhejiang provincial swimming team. She was selected to the national swimming team in 1999.

She won the championships in women’s 800m freestyle at the National Swimming Championships in 1999, in women’s 400m freestyle at the Asian Championships in March 2000, and in women’s 400m freestyle at the National Championships in 2000.

In 2002, she won the third place in women’s 800m freestyle at the 14th Asian Games held in Busan.