He Jie broke the national record again in the Wuxi Marathon by finishing fourth in 2 hours, 06 minutes and 57 seconds.

China Marathon Enters "206" Era

　　Yesterday morning, in the 2024 Wuxi Marathon, Chinese runner He Jie finished fourth in 2 hours, 06 minutes and 57 seconds, breaking the national record in Wuxi again after a year. The Chinese Marathon broke through the "207" mark and officially entered the "206" era.

Wuxi Marathon realizes "four races in one"

　　This year is the year of the Olympic Games. The 2024 Wuxi Marathon has won the right to host the 2024 National Marathon Championship (first stop), the Paris Olympic Marathon Trials, and the Grand Canal Marathon Series (Wuxi Station), achieving "four events in one". The 10th anniversary Wuxi Marathon attracted 265,920 runners to sign up, setting a new record for the number of signups for a Chinese marathon.

　　Yang Shaohui, the Chinese men's marathon record holder, He Jie, who broke the 15-year-old national men's marathon record in Wuxi last year, and Bai Li and Li Zhixuan, who have met the standards of the Paris Olympics, are among 122 domestic elite male runners and 56 elite female runners competing in this year's Wuxi Marathon In addition, the event also invited 13 IAAF foreign gold label athletes and 50 foreign athletes to participate.

He Jie breaks the "206" record in Fudi

　　In the men's marathon elite competition, He Jie and Yang Shaohui showed their determination to win right after the start. The two men remained in the first group from the firing stage, holding on to the famous Ethiopian general Thiem and others. He Jie and Yang Shaohui took the lead alternately, and their top speed once reached the 2 minutes and 50 seconds range. In the last five kilometers, Yang Shaohui lost speed and was gradually left behind by the first group. He Jie gritted his teeth and persisted, continuing to keep pace with Tim. It was not until 40 kilometers later that he was overtaken by Ethiopian and Kenyan players.

　　In the end, Tim won the championship in 2 hours, 06 minutes and 18 seconds, breaking the Wuxi Marathon record. He Jie finished fourth and was also the men's champion of China's domestic marathon. Yang Shaohui won the runner-up in the domestic group in 2 hours, 07 minutes and 26 seconds, and Sangji Dongzhi won the third place in 2 hours, 09 minutes and 29 seconds. In the women's competition, Zhang Deshun, who just set a new Chinese women's half marathon record, won the domestic first place in 2 hours, 27 minutes and 12 seconds.

　　In the Wuxi Marathon on March 19, 2023, He Jie became a blockbuster, opening the "208" mark for the first time and setting a new Chinese marathon record. Returning to Wuxi after a year, He Jie posted on social media the night before the game: "After a winter in Kenya, I am also eager to compete. It is a familiar place. In my blessed place of Wuxi, let's play!" After crossing the finish line in 2 hours, 06 minutes and 57 seconds, He Jie brought the China Marathon to the "206" zone.

“The training camp in Kenya is in place”

　　After the game, He Jie hugged his coach Xiao Li tightly. "Our team is what creates miracles." He Jie said that this result comes from the hard training in the training camp in Kenya. "I am very satisfied with today's results. This year's training camp in Kenya was really good. The level of the foreign players today is very high." , I almost collapsed in the last few kilometers, but the results proved that the stronger the player, the stronger I will be. I will get stronger when I meet the strong."

　　He Jie said that the tactic of this race is to go for the record, "I want the Chinese marathon to enter the '206' era. In this race, Yang Shaohui and I complemented each other, and in the end it was the two of us who were leading each other. This record is not mine." One person’s is brought by our group of marathon runners.”

　　According to reports, He Jie trained for 10 weeks at a training camp in Kenya. Roughly calculated, his training mileage in a single month exceeded 1,000 kilometers. According to He Jie's coach Xiao Li, He Jie's weekly running volume can reach 280 kilometers when the amount of training is heavy. This is also a big impact on China's marathon training concept, which is known for its hard work. Xiao Li said that the scientific and large training volume at the Kenyan training camp laid the foundation for He Jie to break the record.

　　"The children are very motivated. They are the best. Everyone's persistence has led to today's results. He Jie practiced very hard in Kenya. Every day on the track, there was dust and dirt. After every run, he had circles under his eyes. It's black." Xiao Li said.

Will hit the top eight in the Paris Olympics

　　The team training at the Kenyan training camp includes elite players such as Peng Jianhua, He Jie, Fan Zuozheng, Ma Yujie, Li Dan, and Xu Wang. Different from previous overseas training, He Jie's team returned to China before the Wuxi competition this time, seamlessly connecting with the competition.

　　During the training camp, Xiao Li's training philosophy was also impacted. "In training in Kenya, no one led us in the last 10 kilometers, we just ran by ourselves. These trainings made him full of confidence."

　　After setting a new record again, both He Jie and his coach said that the next goal is the Olympic Games. "We hope to improve the Olympic performance and ranking of Chinese athletes again," He Jie said. Xiao Li said that she is optimistic that He Jie will achieve the best ranking in the Chinese marathon at the Paris Olympics. "The child participated in 10 marathons last year and won 10 championships, including the Asian Games championship, which proved his strength. Next, I hope he will bring China's speed to the world stage. There are still more than 100 days left before the Paris Olympics. , being able to enter the top eight is a historical breakthrough. At the Tokyo Olympics, the best ranking in the Chinese marathon was 19th, and He Jie will hit the top eight at the Paris Olympics." Xiao Li said.

　　Regardless of the outcome of the Paris Olympics, He Jie has opened the "207" mark for China's marathon and also opened up the imagination space for China's track and field. He Jie said that he believed that someone would run faster than China later. "I am not the most talented athlete. These new young athletes are very talented and much higher than me. Today I accomplished this and they will let it take its course. Just like last year's Asian Games, I won The championship is to show the whole world that we Chinese can do it."

　　Text/Reporter Chu Peng

　　Coordinator/Wang Yong

　　(Beijing Youth Daily)