China News Service, Beijing, March 24. At the 2024 Wuxi Marathon and Paris Olympic Marathon Trials held on the 24th, Chinese runner He Jie set a new men's marathon national record in 2 hours, 6 minutes and 57 seconds. In more than a year, the record has been rewritten three times.
At the Wuxi Marathon on March 19, 2023, He Jie broke the national record that had stood for nearly 16 years in 2 hours, 7 minutes and 30 seconds. In the Fukuoka Marathon in December, Yang Shaohui broke the record with a time of 2 hours, 7 minutes and 9 seconds.
In the competition that day, He Jie and Yang Shaohui showed high-quality winter training results and remained in the first group with high-level foreign players throughout the whole process. It was not until the final stage that He Jie gradually opened up the distance between him and Yang Shaohui, crossing the finish line fourth and breaking the national record in 2 hours, 6 minutes and 57 seconds. Yang Shaohui’s time was 2 hours, 7 minutes and 26 seconds. Ethiopia's Abate won the men's championship in 2 hours, 6 minutes and 18 seconds.
In the women's category, Chinese player Zhang Deshun ran a time of 2 hours, 27 minutes and 12 seconds, while Bai Li's time was 2 hours, 28 minutes and 17 seconds. Kenya's Njeri won the women's championship in 2 hours, 24 minutes and 46 seconds.
This event is the only Olympic selection event in China. According to the Olympic selection methods of the Chinese Athletics Association, athletes must participate in the Wuxi Marathon or overseas world-class athletes selected or approved by the Chinese Athletics Association between January 1 and May 5, 2024. In the international marathon competition with Athletics Federation points, runners who meet the standard will be ranked according to their personal best results this year, and the top three will have the opportunity to advance to the Olympics.
After the Wuxi Marathon, He Jie, Yang Shaohui and Wu Xiangdong are currently leading the men's Olympic qualification race. For women, Xia Yuyu, Zhang Deshun and Bai Li are temporarily among the top three.
He Jie said after the game that he had run more than 1,000 kilometers per month during winter training in Kenya, and this time he came here just for the record. The strong lineup had made him have some mental ups and downs before the game, but it turns out that the stronger the opponent, the stronger the opponent. , can make yourself stronger. He said that the next goal is the Olympic Games, hoping to improve the performance and ranking of Chinese athletes again. (over)