Yanxi Li of China during the Triple Jump qualifications (© Getty Images)
29 June 2008The Chinese Olympic Trials for their own Olympics in Beijing concluded in Suzhou, Jiangsu pronvince, on Sunday evening. The weather was easily the best on the last day with temperature rising near 30 degrees Celsius and the sun shining.
The trials did not produce too many new names to the Olympic team, but a few good performances were seen during the last session. 24-year-old Li Yanxi became the third Chinese triple jumper to qualify for the Olympics, winning with a big personal best 17.20m.
Li has been a part of Chinese Triple Jump elite ever since he won the silver medal at the 2002 World Junior Championships in Kingston. His 17.15m PB in June 2005 at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene was thought to be a start of a climb towards the world elite, but that hasn’t happened yet. Now the top Chinese jumper of 2008 who hasn’t lost a competition this season, has a chance to do something in Beijing. Li competed in both Athens Olympics in 2004 and Osaka World Championships in 2007, but did not qualify for the finals. Wu Bo was second today with a 16.76m result and did not make it to the Olympic team where Gu Junjie and Zhong Minwei.
Liu Qing takes 1500m title
Another good event was the women’s 1500m where Liu Qing won with a 4:06.14 finally getting the Beijing standard and a place on the Olympic team. 24-year-old Liu ran her personal best 4:04.00 winning the 2005 National Games and had been unable to dip under 4:10 since the 2006 season. Ever bigger news was the athlete getting the second place. The best Chinese 5000m runner, Xue Fei, who won the slow 5000m race on Friday, was fully in action this time slicing almost 10 seconds off her previous 1500m best finishing with a 4:08.87 personal best time. Xue will run the 5000m in Beijing and despite her young age has already won the 2006 Asian Games 5000m and the World Junior Championships in Beijing the same year.
Other events of the last day did not produce much. 36-year-old veteran and national record holder (84.29m) Li Rongxiang continued his comeback winning the javelin with a 72.84m season’s best and 18-year-old Song Dan won the women’s javelin with a 58.16m toss. Zheng Xingjuan continued her reign in the Chinese high jump winning with a 1.88m clearance this time. Zheng, still only 19 years old, has been the best high jumper in the country since the 2005 season.
Zhu Yingying won the women’s 10,000m race in a slow 34:22.37 with Sun Yingjie fading back to 8th place in 36:17.29. Zhang Shufeng won the men’s High Jump with a 2.20m season’s best.
The Olympic Trials was the last Chinese competition before the Olympics. The core of the Olympic team did not compete at the trials and many of the best Chinese have only competed once or twice this season. The best Chinese medal chances in Beijing will be the same three events where they got a medal in Osaka. Liu Xiang in the men’s 110m hurdles, Zhou Chunxiu in the women’s marathon and Zhang Wenxiu in the women’s hammer will lead the medal contenders. But the Chinese will also hope for a medal in the women’s 400m hurdles where Huang Xiaoxiao has been in very promising form in the early season and any of the three women’s shot putters have a chance to get to the podium. In addition to these Xue Fei in the 5000m and Zhang Yingying in the 10000m might be the surprise names in Beijing just like Xing Huina was in Athens winning the 10000m gold medal.
Mirko Jalava for the IAAF
