Chinese athletics is more than just distance running

Chinese athletics is more than just distance running
Mirko Jalava for the IAAF.
5 June 2002 - Chinese National Championships will be held from 6-10 June in the city of Benxi in the Northern Liaoning Province. These National Championships, which are also the Trials for 2002 Asian Games in Busan this October, are the first National level meeting ever staged in Benxi and this is also the first competition to be held at the new stadium in this city surrounded by mountains.

Liaoning Province, best known for "Ma's Army" of course, is a fairly small Province, but very strong in the competition inside China because of its great distance running strength.

Ma Junren, the rather complicated leader of his distance running group, now witnessing his first important National meeting in his own backyard, has been fairly quiet during the past few weeks. In the past Junren has struck back strongly at criticism given to Chinese athletics by the national media, but this time reporters have not been able to get any comments from him.

Distance running results which have gone down since the great feats at the 1993 IAAF World Championships in Stuttgart and National Games 1993 & 1997, and also the number of elite runners in the country. For example, in the 1996 National Championships, there were over 40 competitors in both women's 5000 and 10000 metres. Now, only 15 athletes have been entered in the 5000 m and 17 to 10,000 m, which is a clear signal that something is wrong.

But, despite the way the Chinese press handles the sport, Chinese athletics is much more than just distance running. Most articles about athletics are about Ma's Army and good performances in other events very often are left unreported.

For example, 18-year-old Liu Xiang recently ran a 13.36 110m hurdles in Shanghai and People's Daily just commented that result "would have been enough for the World Top 20 last year". Where as the truth was that Xiang was only 0.11 seconds away from Li Tong's Asian Record and 0.13 seconds from Renaldo Nehemiah's World Junior Record.

As this is an Asian Games year, Chinese are not thinking too much about how they are doing in the World Lists.  The Asian Games are almost equally as important to the Chinese as their own prestigious National Games. It's very important for them to do well and the People's Daily has been very concerned that Chinese male athletes will be having a hard time in Busan.

It will indeed be hard for them considering the low standard of results made in the first three National Grand Prix meets held before these Championships. But the Chinese usually record their best marks in the bigger meetings and this time the reason for low results could be the Asian Games, which are only being held in October.

In the men's sprint events China can boast Xu Zizhou, the 400m National Record holder at 45.25. The 21-year-old Xu, took second place in the 1997 National Games at the age of 16 with the then National Junior Record of 46.01. After that Xu was a 200m finalist in last year’s World University Games and ran 20.39w for the fastest time in the heats.

In the sprint hurdles Liu Xiang, who as a junior was a 110m hurdles semi-finalist in the senior Edmonton World Championships last year, will probably be the best male athlete in China during next few years. Liu, still only 18 years old, has been dominant, not only in China, but Asia too.

However, China also has another strong 18-year-old hurdler in Shi Dongpeng, who only was registered with the China AA last year - and immediately recorded 13.43 over the 110m distance as a 17-year-old. Shi's last year performance is also the World Youth Best in the event.

China also has a prominent 400m hurdler - Zhang Shibao, 18, has already lowered his World Junior leading time to 50.07. The country's best athlete in the event for past few years, Tan Chunhua, has slowly been coming back from injury and will be challenging young Zhang.

The traditionally good jumping events have at present hit a low patch in China.

Best hopes lie in two long jumpers, Asian Record holder Lao Jianfeng and last year's National Games winner Li Dalong, who both have jumped over 8.20 this year.

Triple jump did have a prominent name in Gu Junjie, who jumped 16.88 as a 15-year-old in 2000, but who has gone downwards since because of many injuries. Gu has only managed 16.00 this season and the biggest hopes lie in Li Yanxi, 18, who has lifted his personal best to 16.63 this year.

Pole vault is in an abysmal state in China, after the National Record holder Zhang Hongwei was injured in a motorcycle accident in February of 2001. Only Xu Gang has been jumping towards better heights. Also Xu has been troubled by injuries and was left with a no height in the last National Grand Prix which was won by a result under five metres!

The Discus is a very interesting event in China because the top three athletes in the event are still juniors. However, Wu Tao, who is the leading junior in the world with his 62.04 might be left without a place in the World Junior Championships because he only managed to throw 55m with the 1.5kg implement in the Chinese Junior Championships, enough for fourth place. Xinjiang region athlete Nuer Maimaiti, who very nearly won the last year's National Games, is also a strong challenger.

In the javelin, national record holder Li Rongxiang, 9th in the Edmonton World Championships, has been struggling this year and could be under pressure from Zhang Houxi, who has thrown over 79m this season, or from the leading junior in the world, Qin Qiang, who won the National Junior Championships with 78.11, the second best Chinese Junior all time behind Li Rongxiang's 79.30 from 1991.

In the Decathlon there is only one favourite, Qi Haifeng, 18, who last year became the first Chinese to score over 8000 points. Qi did it twice last year and is already ranked 6th in the World Junior All-time list before his first Decathlon of the year. Notably, Qi who is from Liaoning Province, has already bettered his personal bests in individual events this year.

In women’s athletics a big question mark remains about the present form of the Chinese because the Liaoning Province athletes have raced very little or not at all this year. Dong Yanmei, 4th in the Edmonton 5000m last year and a double winner at the National Games 2001, is the only one with more than one competition. Dong has easily won all her 5000 and 10,000 metre races, but they have all been slow.

Feng Yun and Su Yiping are favourites to win the 100m hurdles - in both Chinese Championships and Asian Games. Both have run 12.91 this year and Su already said that her only goal in 2002 is to win the Asian Games after her winning performance of 12.70w at the National Games last year. Feng was second in the National Games, but has a bit more experience.

In 400m hurdles Song Yinglan, who equalled the Asian Record 53.96 while winning the National Games last year, has been very far from that level so far this year.

Huang Xiaoxiao, the former World Junior record holder in the one lap hurdles has not yet even started her season. Huang, who set the record of 55.15 secs last year as a 16-year-old, was an extra-ordinary talent at very young age. She was second in the World Gymnasiade 400m in Shanghai 1998 in 53.61 as a 13 year old!

Pole vaulter Gao Shuying is of course known worldwide. The Asian Record holder at 4.52, which was the winning performance at last year's World University Games, she was quite close for a World Championship medal in Edmonton and has already jumped 4.43 this year.

In the triple jump, Huang Qiuyan, a newcomer jumping to a surprise win and Asian Junior Record of 14.57 at Shanghai National Games 1997 at only age of 17, has been consistent this year too. She produced the standing Asian Record 14.72 at last year's National Games and has already jumped 14.60 this year too. Huang, from a very poor family, trained very little during 1999 and 2000 because she had to do other part time work. But now she is a part of the financially supported national group of athletes who are aiming at Olympic Gold Medals in 2004 and does not have to think of working anymore.

Standards in the once strong women's shot put have come down in China. The Chinese press has been very disappointed with the fact that the country, which produced double World champion Huang Zhihong, is now unable to produce any athletes who could exceed 19 metres. 21-year-old Li Meiju, who trains with 43-year-old Asian Record holder Li Meisu, has been focused on as the Chinese hope in this traditional event. Li won a silver at the 2000 World Junior championships and the National Games title last year.

The javelin has seen wonder-child Liang Lili, still only 18, come back to the top. Liang threw over 60 metres with the old version javelin in 1997 as a 13-year-old, but has not been able to better her three-year-old personal best until now. With already two 60m competitions this year, she could do it here. Liang is one of the favourites to win the World Junior Championships this year.

In the Heptathlon Shen Shengfei the 1998 World Junior Champion and winner of the 2001 National Games has been troubled with injuries over the years and was not able to finish her first heptathlon of the year, but still remains the outstanding favourite for the Asian Games title.