Gong Lijiao in Beijing (© Chinese Athletics Association)
Making her 2020 debut, two-time world shot put champion Gong Lijiao of China threw a world-leading 19.70m at a throws meeting in Beijing on Saturday (14).
The meeting, hosted by Beijing Sport University, was the first indoor athletics competition staged in China since the breakout of the New Coronavirus forced the eventual postponement or cancellation of sporting events throughout the country. Organised primarily as a competitive opportunity for athletes that train at the university, no spectators were allowed into the venue.
The performance, was Gong's third best ever indoors, trailing her 19.93m indoor best set in Chengdu in 2011 and a 19.88m effort in Beijing in 2013.
The competition came just one day after Gong was expected to compete at the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing, which were postponed on 29 January due to the spread of the Coronavirus. The championships have been rescheduled for 19-21 March of 2021.
The Chinese Athletics Association has confirmed that other athletics meetings have been scheduled for April.
Bob Ramsak and Tony Dou for World Athletics