left to right - Chinese race walkers Wang Hao and Chu Yafei, who finished in the top 10 in Beijing (© Getty Images)
The Chinese National Championships for road walks were held in Xintai 23-25 October with some excellent junior results. The Olympic participants held tight and once more showed their class and there were no big surprises in any of the events.
The most impressive walker of the meet was 19-year-old Wang Hao, who just missed an Olympic medal finishing 4th at the Olympic 20km on his birthday in Beijing (16 Aug). Wang set the fastest ever time for a junior in the 10km clocking 39:32 to surpass Aleksey Bartsaykin’s (RUS) still pending record 39:57 from May 2008. It will be seen later whether either of these results will be ratified as the new record, there have been a lot of faster non-ratifiable performances before with Vladimir Kanaykin (RUS) the fastest with his 38:16 in Saransk 2004. Also another Chinese, Chu Yafei, has walked faster at 39:00 in 2006.
Wang’s win was a tight one as Wang Kun, also 19, set a big personal best to finish in 39:35, only three seconds behind the winner. Wang Kun sliced a massive three minutes and 14 seconds off his previous 10km best 42:49.
In the junior 30km Wang Hao set another personal best 2:08:43 for a clear win and a double over the three days. Zhang Rui was second in 2:12:59 and Wang Kun third this time in 2:14:28 PB.
At just 15 years of age Wang Zhen (b. 24.12.92) equalled the fastest ever 10km result by a youth athlete winning the U18 10km in 40:03. Aleksandr Strokov (RUS) also walked 40:03 in Adler 1999.
In the men’s 20km Li Jianbo, 14th at the Olympic 50km race, won comfortably in a 1:20:47 season’s best ahead of 19-year-old Li Gaobo who opted for the senior race instead of the junior 10km here. Li finished his first 20km of the season in 1:21:06 after three seasons under 1:20 before this year.
Li has been easily the most promising young walker in the world and set his personal best 1:18:07 at the age of 15 in 2005, but only started his 2008 season in September and therefore could not take part to the Olympics. Another Olympic participant Chu Yafei, 10th at Oly 20km, was third in 1:21:46. Many former greats were not in such good form with 29-year-old Han Yucheng, 3rd at the 2006 World Cup 20km, finishing in 22nd place in 1:26:44 and not able to finish the 50km race. 25-year-old Zhu Hengjun, the Asian record holder with 1:17:41 from 2005, was 24th in 1:27:07, his first finished 20km of the 2008 season.
In the 50km race Su Tianfeng, who was 17th in Beijing Olympics, grabbed the win in 3:46:55 following an unfinished 20km race earlier. Zhao Chengliang, who had finished 21st at the 20km race earlier in 1:26:39 and was 21st at the Olympic 50km race as well, was second in 3:50:25. A surprise third was Gou Xiaoxin, who dropped one second off his previous 3:58:25 personal best from the National Spring Champs to finish in 3:58:24 this time.
Again there were plenty off disappointments for some other big names as Li Jianbo (the winner of the 20km race here), Chu Yafei (3rd at 20km), Wang Zhiping, Yu Chaohong (4th at Athens Oly 50km in 2004) all were unable to finish the race.
On the women’s side 23-year-old Jiang Jing, who surprisingly did not make to the Olympic team, won with a good 1:27:23 personal best only missing her PB 1:27:19 from 2005 by four seconds. Shi Na, who was 13th at the Olympics, was second in 1:28:50 season’s best and Yang Yawei third in 1:30:14.
In the junior 20km race World Junior Championships bronze medallist Li Yanfei surprised favourite Yang Mingxia and won with a 1:31:26 personal best lowering her previous best by almost seven minutes. Yang, who walked a best of 1:28:56 earlier this season and was disqualified at the Olympics, was a close second in 1:31:37.
The Chinese athletics season will conclude with the National Junior and Youth Championships Huaian 31 October-3 November and the National Grand Prix Final in Zhaoqing 8-10 November.
Mirko Jalava for the IAAF
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