China's
Ma's Army banking on high altitude training for Olympic gold
Robert J. Saiget (AFP)
15 June 2000 – Beijing - China's controversial track coach Ma Junren is preparing to take his celebrated middle and long-distance women runners to high-altitude training in China's southwest Himalayan Mountains as a final tune up for the Sydney Olympics.
After turning out several world bests for the year 2000 in last week's Olympic trials, the runners are expected to head up to the training site outside Kunming city, Yunnan Province later this summer, Yang Shande, deputy secretary general of the Chinese Track and Field Association, said.
"It's not a question of secrecy, but the dates are not set. They will be doing at least a month's worth of altitude training sometime in late summer," Yang told AFP.
Training at high altitude where oxygen levels are thinner is a proven method to improve athletic performance, especially when athletes return to the higher oxygen levels at sea level and their cardio-vascular systems are reinvigorated by abundant supplies of oxygen.
Ma used the method when his runners swept the 1500, 3000 and 10,000 metres at the 1993 World Championships and set world records in the same distances later that year.
Yang said the altitude training was aimed at producing better times in Sydney as the present group of Ma's runners try to fill the shoes of retired 10,000 metre world record holder and former Olympic gold medallist Wang Junxia and retired 1500 metre world record holder Qu Yunxia.
"This group of runners have only experienced altitude training once before in 1997 and under the leadership of coach Ma the results were pretty good," Yang said.
In races run in Shanghai in October 1997 at China's National Games, Jiang Bo set the world record in the women's 5000 metres with a time of 14:28.09 seconds, as a slew of Ma's runners set the second, third, fourth, 11th and 12th best times ever for the event.
Although Jiang Bo is injured and presently not competing, Dong Yanmei, whose world second best of 14:29.82 was run in the 1997 race, has finished this year with a world best for 2000 (up to May 31) clocking 15:03.99 in the event.
Yin Lili finished second in 15:06.30, the second fastest time of the year, but well off her personal best of 14:39.96.
In last week's 1500 metres, Lan Lixin posted the world best for the year in a time of 4:05.13, well off her personal best of 3:53.91 that was also run in 1997.
Last week, Li Jie also won the women's 10,000 metres in a time of 32:22.90, followed by Dong Yanmei in 32:23.21 and Song Liqing in 32:38.90.
In 1997, Dong ran 30:38.09 in the 10,000 metres, while Lan Lixin ran 30:39.41 and Yin Lili 30:39.98, times if reproduced in Sydney that could be good enough for a medal.
Ma's women runners hold 12 of the top 17 best times ever run for the 1500 metres, seven of the top 12 times ever run in the 5000 metres and eight of the 17 best times ever run in the 10,000 metres with all the times coming in meets in either 1993 or 1997.
"Outside of the 20 kilometres walk, the most hope for medals that China has at Sydney is in the women's middle and long distance running, particularly the 5000 metres," Shang Xiutang, vice head of China's national track and field training centre, said.
"Historically China has reached a high level in women's middle and long distance running, so although we face some difficulties, we are very hopeful."
Whether or not Ma's runners can regain their form in Sydney could well depend on the final months of training, said Yang.
But he also cautioned that Ma's runners, most of whom are only in their late teens or early 20s, lack crucial experience in international meets.
Last year the team did not go through systematic training and "real training" only began early this year, he said.
"After six months the runners have almost returned to their previous form and the results aren't bad, but there is a lot to consider," he said.
"It is not only the lack of altitude training, but they also lack experience in international meets," he added.
