Chinese outdoor season gets underway

The 2006 Chinese outdoor season had a real kick start last weekend with the IAAF Race Walking Challenge in Yangzhou and the first national outdoor meeting in Chongqing. As usual, the biggest stars like Liu Xiang and others did not take part to this opener, but there were plenty of good results and like always in China, many notable marks by junior and youth athletes.

The junior athlete's results are extremely important in China this season because the 11th IAAF World Junior Championships will be held in Beijing later this summer (15 – 20 August).

MEN - 16-year-old long jumps 8.17m

The two-day meeting last weekend (22 / 23 April) was highlighted by just 16-year-old Zhang Xiaoyi, from Jiangsu province, who was only competing in his first national level meeting outdoors. The youngster, who turns 17 next month, had taken sixth place in the national high school championships last summer and competed in one of the national indoor meetings this winter setting a personal best of 7.66m then. But Zhang, who had to compete in group B of the huge long jump competition with 42 entrants, finished the competition with a result of 8.17m, beating Wang Cheng's Asian junior record (8.16m) by one centimetre.

This mark is also best ever by a 16-year-old and only 8cm less than Luis Bueno's (CUB) World Youth Best of 8.25m set in 1986. More experienced jumpers competing in the second group of the competition could not get anywhere close the Zhang's mark with 2005 East Asian Games champion Song Jian taking the second place with a 7.91m jump ahead of Zhou Can's 7.88m.

200m record equalled

Another highlight was Shanghai sprinter Yang Yaozu's double over 100/200m.
On Saturday (22) the 25-year-old 200m specialist took the 100m with a personal best of 10.25 into a headwind and then equalled Han Chaoming's almost 10-year-old 200m record of 20.54s on Sunday evening (23). 100m World University Games champion from 2005, Hu Kai, who had passed his main event here, led the 200m race almost from start to finish only to be passed by Yang near the finish line. Hu also set a big personal best of 20.57 for second place bettering his earlier one of 20.89s from 2004 quite clearly.

Yang Yaozu, who spent the 2005 summer training at the Baylor University in Waco, Texas, has clearly benefited from this trip. Yang took his first National Championship as an 18-year-old in 1999 clocking a PB of 20.82 then. He went on to run 20.58 in the 2002 Asian Games and then 20.59 in the heats of the Athens Olympics in 2004 before finally getting his name in the record books.

Shi Dongpeng – and easy win

In the men's 110m hurdles, the top name, reigning Olympic champion and joint World record holder, Liu Xiang, was absent, but the number two and three men in China were in the competition. Shi Dongpeng, who set his personal best of 13.29s in last year's National Championships and nearly got to the World Championships final in Helsinki, easily won his opening race of the season with a fast 13.56s clocking. Another favourite, Wu Youjia, who also competed in Helsinki last year, was not as fortunate as he was disqualified this time.

In the men's field events Wang Hao equalled his personal best winning the High Jump with a 2.24m clearance. 19-year-old Yang Quan just won the Pole Vault ahead of national record holder Liu Feiliang with both finishing at 5.45m this time.

The first Chinese to overcome the 20m limit in the men's Shot Put, Zhang Qi, proved that he has not lost his form from last summer. The 22-year-old opened with a 19.66m toss to take an easy win.

WOMEN – field events the strongest

Women's track events didn't offer much this time. Best action was seen in the 100m Hurdles where 30-year-old veteran Feng Yun opened her season with a 13.01s race winning before Zhang Rong's 13.16s for the second place. He Yu won the 400m hurdles in 56.77s.

In the field events Chinese female juniors showed their strength ahead of the Beijing World Junior Championships. China will have a medal candidate for most of the women's field events.

17-year-old Zheng Xingyuan, who set the National Junior record of 1.92m last season, won the high jump with a 1.88m jump. Two juniors, Liang Dan and Zhao Yingzhu finished one-two in the pole vault both clearing 4.15m. 19-year-old Xie Limei, who is not a junior this year as she will turn 20 in June, took a double over Long Jump and Triple Jump. Her winning marks were 6.41m and 14.27m respectively.

Zhang Wenxiu over 70m again

Li Ling won the women's Shot Put with a 18.56m throw leaving Li Fengfeng to second place at 18.19m. 25-year-old Li Meiju, who has been number one shot putter in China for the last five years, did not start well. She could only manage 17.53m and third place. The real surprise was in fourth place, only 15-year-old Gong Lijiao, born on 10 January 1991, set a personal best of 17.41m followed by two more juniors, Zhang Qiang with 17.19m for the fifth and Li Li with 17.03m for the sixth place.

Song Aimin won the Discus Throw with a fine opener of 63.07m, best junior in this event was 17-year-old Pan Saili with a 55.50m throw.

Zhang Wenxiu took the Hammer Throw title with another 70m mark of 70.86m, and World junior record holder Xue Juan won the Javelin Throw with 57.38m.

Chinese athletes get back to action in mid-May with the National Youth Championships and the second leg of the National Grand Prix Series.

Mirko Jalava for the IAAF

RESULTS

National Grand Prix, Chongqing, China, 22-23 April

Men
100m (-0.3): Yang Yaozu 10.25; 2 Pang Guibin 10.44.
200m (+0.8): Yang Yaozu 20.54 =NR; 2 Hu Kai 20.57.
400m: Chen Xiaochuan (88) 46.73.
800m: Li Guangming 1:52.82.
1500m: Gao Jie (87) 3:46.90.
5000m: Huang Dali (89) 14:31.10.
10,000m: Sun Xinli (88) 30:18.50.
3000m Steeplechase: Bai Jie 9:10.40.
110m Hurdles (+0.6): Shi Dongpeng 13.56.
400m Hurdles: Ou Yongjian 50.76.
High Jump: Wang Hao 2.24.
Pole Vault: Yang Quan 5.45; 2 Liu Feiliang 5.45.
Long Jump: Zhang Xiaoyi (25.5.89) 8.17/+0.5 AJR; 2 Song Jian 7.91/-0.2; 3 Zhou Can 7.88/-0.3.
Triple Jump: Gu Junjie 16.50/-0.1; 2 Lin Mujie 16.46/-0.2.
Shot Put: Zhang Qi 19.66; 2 Jia Peng 18.46.
Discus Throw: Wu Tao 60.75; 2 Tulake Nuermaimaiti 58.84.
Hammer Throw: Ma Liang 68.24; 2 Zhao Yihai 68.21.
Javelin Throw: Chen Qi 76.16; 2 Li Rongxiang 74.55; 3 Li Yu 74.51.

Women
100m (+0.1): Wang Wenshan 11.81.
200m (+0.8): Han Ling 23.51; 2 Chen Jue (87) 23.69.
400m: Tang Xiaoyin 52.99; 2 Li Xueji (88) 53.62.
800m: Long Xiaomei (89) 2:05.75.
1500m: Zhu Xiaolin 4:17.07.
5000m, race 1: Zhu Xiaolin 15:40.44; race 2: Sun Weiwei 15:48.89; 2 Xi Qiuhong 15:49.81.
10,000m: Jiang Yuanyuan 32:45.95; 2 Dong Xiaoqin 32:49.60; 3 Xi Qiuhong 32:51.40.
3000m Steeplechase: Li Chongfeng 10:38.34.
100m Hurdles (+0.6): Feng Yun 13.01; 2 Zhang Rong 13.16; 3 Liu Jing 13.31.
400m Hurdles: He Yu 56.77.
High Jump: Zheng Xingyuan (89) 1.88; 2 Gu Biwei (88) 1.84.
Pole Vault: Liang Dan (88) 4.15; 2 Zhao Yingzhu (88) 4.15.
Long Jump: Xie Limei 6.41/+0.1; 2 Zhang Lan (88) 6.31/+0.6.
Triple Jump: Xie Limei 14.27/+1.2; 2 Sha Li (88) 13.57/-0.7; 3 Wang Ying 13.52/+0.2.
Shot Put: Li Ling 18.56; 2 Li Fengfeng 18.19; 3 Li Meiju 17.53; 4 Gong Lijiao
(91) 17.41; 5 Zhang Qiang (87) 17.19; 6 Li Li (87) 17.03; 7 Qian Chunhua 16.65; 8 Li Bo (88) 16.37.
Discus Throw: Song Aimin 63.07; 2 Ma Xuejun 60.23; 3 Sun Taifeng 58.39; 4 Xu Shaoyang 58.10; 5 Lin Xiaojing 55.88; 6 Pan Saili (88) 55.50.
Hammer Throw: Zhang Wenxiu 70.86; 2 Gu Yuan 65.60; 3 Liu Yinghui 64.10.
Javelin Throw: Xue Juan 57.38; 2 Zheng Ruixia 55.95; 3 Ma Ning 55.39; 4 Zhu Jingya (87) 55.36.
Heptathlon: Wang Hailan 5680.