17-year-old Chen Zhikang suddenly became the focus of the Chinese track and field circle.

　　In the just-concluded 2022 National Middle School Athletics Championships, Chen Zhikang from Changjun Middle School in Changsha, Hunan ran an astonishing 13.18 in the men's B 110-meter hurdles (hurdle height 0.914) final and won the championship.

　　According to the historical results of the World Athletics Federation, Chen Zhikang's 13.18 seconds can rank second in Asia in the men's 110-meter hurdles youth group, and is also the sixth in the history of the world's youth 110-meter hurdles.

Because of this, many track and field fans call him "Liu Xiang's successor".

　　"My hurdle height this time is very different from the adult hurdle height, and there is no comparison with Liu Xiang when I was a teenager. When I can reach this result in the adult hurdle height, then I may be regarded as the real successor."

　　In an interview with The Paper, the 17-year-old Chen Zhikang was quite calm, but his few words revealed his expectation for the future to become faster and stronger, "In the future, I will definitely continue to work hard in track and field to serve China. Athletics make a contribution.”

　　Fight to Fame

　　Since August 18, a video of the men's 110-meter hurdles in the middle school track and field championships has quickly become popular on social networks.

The protagonist in the video is Chen Zhikang who has left all his opponents far behind.

　　In that final, Chen Zhikang crossed the finish line at 13.18 seconds.

And according to the game information, the wind speed of the game held at 1:35 pm on August 17th was 1 meter per second against the wind.

This also means that if there is no wind or a slight tailwind, Chen Zhikang can still run faster.

　　For the Chinese hurdles in the "post-Liu Xiang era", this result is indeed too eye-catching, even if it is only a competition for middle school students.

　　This is why, after Chen Zhikang became famous in the first battle, even the social accounts of People's Daily, People's Daily Online and CCTV have reposted Chen Zhikang's game video, cheering for him and giving him likes, and many track and field fans are even more excited The 17-year-old was named "Liu Xiang's successor".

　　"I am very satisfied with this result, because this is the best result I have run since I practiced hurdles." Chen Zhikang told The Paper that in fact, in normal training, even in previous competitions, he hurled the hurdles. The height is mostly 0.991 meters (commonly known as "one-meter hurdles") for the age group of 18 to 20 years old. This is the first time he has crossed the hurdle height of 0.914 meters in the official competition of the high school group.

　　"Although the hurdles are high and low, I was worried that the headwind would affect the rhythm and speed before the game." Chen Zhikang also talked to the surging news reporter about the wind speed in the game, "At that time, I thought the wind would stop quickly, but later Focus on the details of the game and not so much about headwinds."

　　It is worth mentioning that before this final, Chen Zhikang ran 13.53 seconds in the morning preliminaries.

A day later, in the men's B 400-meter hurdles final, Chen Zhikang won his second championship with 52.83 seconds.

Similar to the situation in the 110-meter hurdles, he also greatly improved his preliminaries in the final of the 400-meter hurdles.

　　Even in the "short hurdles" competition, the intensity of the four shots in two days can continue to improve the results, and even refresh the personal best results, which has been able to explain Chen Zhikang's talent and potential to a certain extent.

　　Not only that, but now 17-year-old Chen Zhikang has reached 1.83 meters tall, which is quite an ideal figure for hurdles.

　　He has emerged in junior high school and loves to use his brains in training

　　However, Chen Zhikang still regards his achievements and competitive performance quite rationally.

　　In interviews with various media, the 17-year-old also repeatedly said that running 13.18 meters in the "short hurdles" of 0.914 meters is not a match for the top Chinese hurdles athletes such as Liu Xiang and Xie Zhenye, even in their hurdles. There is not much comparability over the same period.

　　However, according to his coach Zhao Wen, Chen Zhikang does have enough talent and room for growth in the 110-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles.

　　Zhao Wen told The Paper that he first met Chen Zhikang at the primary school students' sports meeting in Yuhua District, Changsha City.

At that time, Chen Zhikang was still a sixth-grade student, and Zhao Wen saw his talent at a glance, "His coach sent this child to me at that time, and then started training with us."

　　After a year of extensive physical training, Zhao Wen found that Chen Zhikang had a very prominent sense of rhythm and a high understanding of hurdling techniques, so he decided to let Chen Zhikang focus on hurdles.

　　"Actually, it didn't take long for Chen Zhikang to participate in the national junior high school competition when he entered the second year of junior high school, and then he won the second place." Zhao Wen recalled that it was also Chen Zhikang's emergence in junior high school that made the teacher The two disciples strengthened their determination to polish their skills and improve their abilities in hurdles.

　　Since junior high school, Chen Zhikang has been training for about two and a half hours a day, 6 days a week, sometimes 24/7.

With the increase of age and the formation of technology, Chen Zhikang will soon be able to train for one-meter hurdles.

　　"I usually do one-meter hurdles (0.991 meters) training, and then when it comes to winter training, I will also use high hurdles." Coach Zhao Wen told The Paper that because Chen Zhikang was still underage, he didn't have it. The plan is to "help the seedlings grow", or to cultivate his ability with a step-by-step training plan. "We use the 1.067-meter hurdle for adults, that is, we hope to improve his hurdling strength and hurdling ability, not for racing or anything."

　　It is also under the guidance and help of coach Zhao Wen that Chen Zhikang's ability among his peers has become more and more prominent.

In fact, before he became famous in the National Middle School Athletics Championships, he had already won the men's 110m hurdles and 400m hurdles double championship on behalf of the Changsha team in the Hunan Provincial Middle School Students Games last year.

　　The reason why he has been able to make rapid progress all the way, in Zhao Wen's opinion, this is also related to Chen Zhikang's love of brains, "He is a child who loves brains very much, and he has his own ideas. In training, it is not purely me who is teaching. He, he also explored some training methods by himself, thinking of ways to improve himself." Successor Liu Xiang?

Chen Zhikang wants to enter a good university first

　　After becoming famous in the first battle, Chen Zhikang seems to have become a "future star" on social networks. Many netizens even exclaimed him as "Liu Xiang's successor" after watching the video of the game.

　　Indeed, if only in terms of competition results, Chen Zhikang's results at the age of 17 were quite amazing.

You know, when Liu Xiang participated in the 2000 World Youth Championship in Chile at the age of 17, his final result was 13.87 seconds.

That year, Liu Xiang's best time was 13.32 seconds, which was created in the National Track and Field Championships.

　　Aside from the 13.18 seconds in the "short hurdle", Chen Zhikang's ability in the "one-meter hurdles" of the youth group can also reach the interval of 13.60 seconds.

　　However, as a "fan brother" of Liu Xiang, Chen Zhikang treats these achievements and praises very rationally.

　　"Liu Xiang is a god-like existence to all those who practice track and field, and his status cannot be shaken. My hurdle height this time is far from the adult hurdle height, and there is no comparison with Liu Xiang in his youth. Wait for me. If you can reach this grade in the adult hurdle, then you may be regarded as the real successor."

　　After finishing the track and field championships for middle school students, Chen Zhikang, who immediately entered the senior year of high school, admitted that his current priority is to make up for some cultural lessons left behind, "Because of the training and competition, a lot of learning will be delayed, but fortunately my head teacher will also help me. Help me by explaining the situation to the class teacher.”

　　With the halo of the national middle school students' 110-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles double champions, Chen Zhikang is about to face another pressure off the field, that is, the college entrance examination.

And Chen Zhikang also hopes that his track and field expertise can help him enter a famous university.

　　"The next step is to start preparing for the university entrance examination. I hope that not only training, but also learning can be improved to a higher level. Only by entering a good university can you have a better starting point."

　　Chen Zhikang's thoughts and future plans are actually the epitome of the Hunan students at the National Middle School Athletics Championships.

In this competition, athletes from various middle schools in Hunan have achieved quite eye-catching results. Taking Changjun Middle School as an example, they made another historic breakthrough in this competition, winning a total of 4 golds, 5 silvers and 3 bronzes. , the first place in the total score of the men's group B, the second place in the total score of the junior high school team, and the fifth place in the total score of the junior high school women's team.

　　"Hunan has a good grasp of campus sports. Both the Sports Bureau and the Education Bureau support the development of students' amateur training." Zhao Wen, who has been a track and field coach at Changsha Changjun Middle School since 1999, has witnessed Changsha student-athletes. Their rapid growth, "The competition in Hunan Province is very competitive, and the atmosphere of the competition is very good."

　　Seeing that his disciples have made great progress in the 110-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles, and there is still room for improvement, Zhao Wen is also happy for Chen Zhikang, but at the same time respects his ideas, "We certainly hope that children can Reaching a higher level in sports, having the opportunity to represent the country and win glory for the country is the dream of our sports people. But it still depends on the child's own development. Reading and hurdling are both good choices."

　　The 17-year-old Chen Zhikang also hopes to continue to improve both academically and competitively. "I hope to be admitted to a good university, and I plan to continue to struggle on the road of track and field and make contributions to China's track and field."