On March 24, China Marathon left many “records”.
On this day, among the 18 cities across the country that welcomed marathon events, Wuhan, Chongqing and Wuxi all ushered in new race records. The national marathon record was also broken for the fourth time in one year - at the 2024 Wuxi Marathon and Paris Olympic Marathon Trials, Chinese runner He Jie won the domestic men's championship in 2 hours, 06 minutes and 57 seconds, bringing China's marathon into the "206 era" ".
The “207 Era” was also born in Wuxi. In the Wuxi Marathon last March, He Jie and Yang Shaohui made history. They both broke the men's marathon national record that had been standing for nearly 16 years with a time of 2 hours, 07 minutes and 30 seconds and 2 hours, 07 minutes and 49 seconds. He Jie, who won the championship, will The national record of 2 hours, 08 minutes and 15 seconds set by Ren Yunlong in 2007 improved by 45 seconds. At the Fukuoka Marathon in Japan at the end of last year, Yang Shaohui won the runner-up in 2 hours, 07 minutes and 9 seconds, improving He Jie's record by 21 seconds.
"After Yang Shaohui broke my record, I wanted to break it back. We have to break even further in the Paris Olympics." In order to regain the record, He Jie conducted solid winter training in Kenya. "The results were satisfactory. The training worked. ". After becoming the national record holder again, He Jie told reporters from China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily that through years of external training and participation in international competitions, training methods and concepts have changed a lot, and are "more scientific and more suitable for Chinese athletes", and After communicating with top athletes represented by Kipchoge, it is easy to be infected by their purity and devotion to running. "We must continue to break through ourselves."
"After years of training abroad, the quality of training has been significantly improved; marathon events are prosperous, and the commercial model is more mature. High-level athletes can receive more support and have less worries." In Yang Shaohui's view, it is the "security" provided by the general environment. Helping athletes take the initiative to jump out of their "comfort zone" has contributed to the phenomenon of "China's marathon record being refreshed four times a year" (including Yang Shaohui's silver medal in the 2023 Wuxi Marathon - reporter's note).
"The style has changed. In the past, in order to protect the ranking, the competition method was relatively conservative. Now the overall results have improved. Everyone wants to fight to hit their best results. This is a directional change." He Jie said frankly that this generation Athletes have formed a competitive situation of "chasing with each other". "A stronger opponent can achieve a faster self, thereby leading to a faster China Marathon."
The speed and competition of Chinese marathons can be seen from the 2024 Wuxi Marathon. According to the official statistics of the event, a total of 3,423 runners successfully broke the 3-hour mark in this race. This number of runners not only ranked first in the national marathon, but also ranked third in the number of marathon runners in the world. Bit.
As the Paris Olympic Marathon Trials, this event can be called the "Battle of Heavenly King Mountain" for top domestic marathon athletes. According to the "Selection Methods for Track and Field Events to Participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics" previously announced by the Chinese Athletics Association, in addition to meeting the standards within a fixed period (November 6, 2022 to May 5, 2024), all athletes who meet the standards must also compare the specified period. (January 1 to May 5, 2024). The competition scope is limited to the Wuxi Marathon and international events with World Athletics points. The top three runners will qualify for the Paris Olympics.
Therefore, the Chinese team’s male athletes He Jie, Yang Shaohui, Feng Peiyou, Wu Xiangdong, and female athletes Zhang Deshun, Li Zhixuan, Bai Li, and Xia Yuyu, who have qualified for the Paris Olympic marathon, are all registered. The goal is to strive for better and effective results, so as to achieve better results in the marathon. Leading the race to qualify for the Paris Olympics.
Yang Shaohui finished the race ranked second in the country with a time of 2 hours, 07 minutes and 20 seconds. However, when the race was 39 kilometers away, he was already "a little confused." After the game, he told reporters from the China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily that the intensity of this game was very high. "It's about the Olympic quota. Everyone wants to give it a try. They must take it, otherwise they will have to wait another 4 years." Therefore, he kept his pace at 2 minutes and 50 seconds per kilometer to 2 minutes and 55 seconds per kilometer between 25 and 30 kilometers. "It was a little too fast, which caused a serious slowdown in the last few kilometers." Although he joked that he ran "a mess" at the last moment, Yang Shaohui did not regret this "radical" attempt. "Although we are not strong enough to compete for gold and silver in the Olympics, it is still every athlete's dream to represent China." ", and more importantly, breakthroughs have proved that "if you want to make progress, you must try."
"China's marathon records are constantly being broken, which proves that the overall strength of Chinese men's marathon is strong and is getting closer to the world level step by step, but women's results still need to improve." As the coach of famous athletes such as Dong Guojian, Yang Shaohui, and Zhang Deshun, my country's famous marathon coach Zhang Guowei A reporter from China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily said that my country’s women’s marathon had a bright history in the past, but later the competitive performance dropped significantly and they have not been able to break through. “I hope women can catch up as soon as possible.”
As the current "big sister" of my country's women's marathon, Zhang Deshun won the domestic women's championship in Wuxi Marathon with a time of 2 hours, 27 minutes and 12 seconds. She admitted after the race that this was the result of a "collapse" after an active attempt. "Before the Paris Olympics, there were few opportunities to experience a pace that broke the PB (personal best) on the full marathon track." Therefore, the race Recently, she decided to challenge her limits with foreign elite athletes. "I used to collapse after following 20 kilometers. This time I can reach 28 kilometers, and there is still progress." Although the results were unsatisfactory, Zhang Deshun saw the "practical value". "Through the competition, the shortcomings were exposed, and it became clearer how to practice next, and it was more targeted." Men's records have been broken repeatedly, which also inspired female athletes to have the courage to break through.
Last year at the Nagoya Marathon in Japan, Zhang Deshun set the best time of 2 hours, 24 minutes and 5 seconds for a Chinese women's marathon since 2012. Although the women's marathon world record has reached 2 hours, 11 minutes and 53 seconds, and the entire world is speeding up, this result is still far from the world level, but her pace of catching up has not stopped. In the Renshou Women's Half Marathon in February this year, Zhang Deshun ran a time of 1 hour, 07 minutes and 55 seconds, breaking the 20-year-old Chinese women's half marathon record. The original record was 1 hour, 08 minutes and 40 seconds held by Sun Yingjie. .
This year's Nagoya Marathon was held in early March. Xia Yuyu, a student from Tsinghua University, set a new personal best time of 2 hours, 25 minutes and 45 seconds, and at the same time reached the Paris Olympic qualification line. Her outstanding performance has given the Chinese women's marathon a new pattern in preparation for the Paris Olympics.
"Being an audience is more nervous than being a contestant. My heartbeat was already racing even before the starting gun went off." Due to the tight schedule, Xia Yuyu, whose body has not yet recovered, did not stand on the Wuxi Marathon course in the end, but this did not affect her feeling of the intensity of the competition. She told reporters from China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily, "As soon as the competition started, the pace of the first women's group was very fast. I remember it was more than 71 points when we passed the half-way timing point. I could see that everyone was I really want to create a good result." She found more similarities among the Chinese marathon family: serious training and eagerness for breakthroughs.
After the Wuxi competition, according to the "selection method" announced by the Chinese Athletics Association, He Jie and Xia Yuyu currently have the upper hand in the men's and women's rankings respectively. Yang Shaohui and Zhang Deshun have also basically locked their seats, while Wu Xiangdong, Feng Peiyou, Li Zhixuan and Bai Li still has a chance to launch an impact on the Paris Olympics.
"Although our level is still far behind that of some marathon runners from developed countries, now that we have the opportunity to challenge, we are confident to make another breakthrough." He Jie is looking forward to showing China's speed on the Paris Olympic marathon track. Xia Yuyu, who was born in 1998, has set the goal of participating in the Olympic Games since the Chengdu Universiade. Now, as she is infinitely close to this opportunity, she said frankly: "Since I can reach this goal, I must go all out to do what I can."
This newspaper, Beijing, March 25
China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily reporter Liang Xuan Source: China Youth Daily