China's Dong Bin in action in the triple jump (© AFP / Getty Images)
China’s Dong Bin returned to his favourite indoor facility in Nanjing and bounded out to an Asian indoor triple jump record and 2016 world-leading mark of 17.41m on the second day of the Chinese National Indoor Grand Prix on Monday (29).
Dong, a finalist at both the London 2012 Olympic Games and the IAAF World Championships Moscow 2013, added 25 centimetres to his own continental indoor record set at the same venue in 2013.
In his first competition of the year, the two-time Asian indoor champion opened with 16.61m before hitting his big jump, which was also three centimetres better than he’s ever done outdoors.
After his record leap, Dong passed his remaining four attempts.
China has never won a men’s triple jump medal at the IAAF World Indoor Championships, with Zou Sixin’s fourth place in Seville back in 1991 being the best result to date, but Dong will now go to Portland next month hoping to end that medal drought in his specialist event.
A medal in Portland will also be some redemption for his disappointing performance on home soil at the IAAF World Championships Beijing 2015. Although he was not expected to be a medal contender, he failed to progress to the final.
Dong's performance wasn't the only national record set in Nanjing. Wei Yongli sped to a national record of 7.17 in the women's 60m.
Three men jumped beyond eight metres in the long jump, with Huang Changzhou winning with a personal best of 8.18m ahead of 19-year-old world bronze medallist Wang Jianan, who reached 8.07m with Tang Gongchen third with 8.01m.
