Long qualified for the 56 kg class at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing,[1] where he won a gold medal in the 56 kg weightlifting. He achieved two junior world records on his way to winning the gold in the men's weightlifting 56 kg category.[2][3] The following year, he won the gold medal in the 56 kg category at the 2009 World Weightlifting Championships, with 292 kg in total.[4]
At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Long won a gold medal in the 56 kg category with a new world record of 307 kg, surpassing Halil Mutlu's world record of 305 kg set at Sydney Olympics 16 years ago.[7]