A relaxed Liu Xiang starts outdoor campaign

The 2004 Olympic 110m Hurdles champion, Liu Xiang has started his outdoor season in a very low key fashion. Ahead of next weekend’s Chinese National Grand Prix in Zhongshan, Guangdong province, China, the first main event of the 2005 domestic season, the joint holder of the World record for the sprint hurdles won in Yichun on Saturday (16 April) in 13.59.

As usual, the 21-year-old’s appearance raised a huge media interest and he was surrounded by reporters most of the time in Yichun.

Although his finishing time was not the key factor, it is a decent one looking back at his starts to earlier seasons. After the race Liu confirmed this saying that he was really happy with his training and that tests show progress since the 2004 season, for example he is now faster over the 150m flat distance.

After two races, heat and final, in Zhongshan next weekend, Liu will then race in the Osaka GP meeting on May 7.

Youthful promise on the track and infield

In other events there was a strong early season showing for junior and youth athletes. With the World Youth Championships coming up in Marrakech, Morocco this summer, the Yichun meeting indicated several Chinese favourites for team places.

The women’s 1500 metres was won by 17-year-old Lin Yuan in 4:16.09, Lin only started in the national level this winter and was already challenging the more experienced athletes indoors.

The women’s 5000m and 10,000m were easily the best aspects of the meeting. Both races involved almost only junior athletes, and there were several good results, and the impact of the National Games in October can already be seen.

19-year-old Zhang Chong won the 5000m in a personal best of 15:32.42 which is naturally the best junior time in the world this season.

Although times around 15:30 are hardly remarkable, it’s the early season scheduling of the performance which counts. It is very rare in China to see fast distance races in the beginning of the season because the big meetings are always towards the end of the calendar year.

For instance, Zhang, who was 19th in the World Cross Country Championships junior race last month, last season started with a 16:20.44 in April and ended up with 15:47.28, then a personal best, in August.

The women’s 10,000m was won by Bao Guiying, also a junior athlete, in 32:43.71. There were a total of six juniors under 33:30 in the 10,000m and four under 16:00 in the 5000m with all of the athletes running both distances.

16-year-old Chen Rong was also impressive. She ran in both the 5000m and 10,000m (16:10.39 and 33:15.06) in two days and will of course also be eligible for the World Youth Championships.

16-year-old Zhao Jing won the women’s High Jump with a personal best of 1.84m, while Pan Saili, who will only turn 17 next December, threw a big personal best of 55.72m in the women’s Discus Throw.

Aiming for the National Games

This Discus event was though won by a true veteran, 37-year-old Xiao Yanling with 56.74m. Xiao is looking for a final chance of taking another National Games title after a few silent years. She did throw in 2004, but already the first competition of 2005 went better than whole of last season for Xiao, who won the 1997 Games in Shanghai with 70.00m throw – in Guangzhou 2001 she was fourth. Also Cao Qi, in second place with 56.02m, is making a comeback. 31-year-old Asian junior record holder with 66.08m, the winning result in the 1993 National Games in Beijing, did return last season after a three-year break, but could only manage 52.94m then.

In the women’s javelin World junior record holder Xue Juan was still searching for better throws. Winning mark of 55.88m is in the right direction, but still a far cry from her 2003 World Junior record of 62.93m in October 2003.

Improving men’s track standards

Men’s distance races were relatively quick. 5000m was won by 18-year-old Lin Xiangqian in a personal best of 13:50.56, Lin will surely me one of the big hopes for Chinese men’s distance running.

Another former hope is getting to better form too. Zhang Yunshan ran a National youth record of 28:58.81 in the 10,000m in 2000 as a 17-year-old, but has been not been in same kind of form ever since. In Yichun he did come close to 29-minute barrier again, winning in 29:00.93, which is also easily the fastest time in China in several years at this early stage of the season – same goes for Lin’s 5000m time too.

Both men are far ahead of their usual early season form. Last season Zhang opened his 10,000m season with 29:44.87 in April with Lin’s first race of the season being the National Championships final in May where he ran 14:03.17.

Mirko Jalava for the IAAF

 
Chinese warm-up meeting, Yichun, 16-17 April 2005

Top results

Men

100m(+0.8):
1 Zhou Wei 10.49.
400m:
1 Ni Zhenjie 46.60
800m:
1 Tang Baojun 1:50.16.
1500m:
1 Tang Baojun 3:46.33.
5000m:
1 Lin Xiangqian (87) 13:50.56.
10,000m:
1 Zhang Yunshan 29:00.93.
3000m Steeplechase:
1 Qin Chuan 8:49.50.
110m Hurdles(+0.5):
 1 Liu Xiang 13.59; 2 Chen Ming 13.95.
400m Hurdles:
1 Gao Hai 51.33.

 
Women

1500m:
1 Lin Yuan (88) 4:16.09.
5000m:
1 Zhang Chong (86) 15:32.42; 2 Zhang Yuhong 15:33.17; 3 Bai Xue (87) 15:39.57; 4 Zhu Yanmei (86) 15:43.28; 5 Bao Guiying (86) 15:58.41; 6 Jiang Chengcheng (86) 16:04.98; 7 Chen Rong (88) 16:10.39; 8 Wang Shijuan (86) 16:11.40; 9 Wu Yanjun (88) 16:32.04.
10,000m:
1 Bao Guiying (86) 32:43.71; 2 Bai Xue (87) 32:55.24; 3 Jiang Chengcheng (86) 32:55.33; 4 Zhang Yuhong 33:09.33; 5 Zhu Yanmei (86) 33:14.76; 6 Chen Rong (88) 33:15.06; 7 Zhang Chong (86) 33:28.40.
100m Hurdles(-0.8):
 1 Feng Yun 13.51 (1h2 13.46/+1.7).
High Jump:
1 Zhao Jing (88) 1.84.
Pole Vault:
1 Wu Sha 4.00.
Triple Jump:
1 Wang Ying 13.43/0.0.
Discus Throw:
1 Xiao Yanling 56.74; 2 Cao Qi 56.02; 3 Pan Saili (88) 55.72; 4 Lin Xiaojing (86) 55.36.
Hammer Throw:
 1 Zhao Wei 61.84.
 Javelin Throw:
1 Xue Juan (86) 55.88; 2 Zhang Cuiduo 53.83.