China concluded its participation in the World Athletics Championships with a disappointing performance, securing only two bronze medals. This marks the first time in two decades that Chinese athletes did not win any gold or silver medals at the world championships.
The biennial global athletics event took place in Budapest, Hungary, from August 19 to 27, with 41 Chinese athletes participating in 17 different disciplines. Despite high hopes of winning two or three gold medals, the athletes were unable to realize this goal.
This underperformance rings alarm bells for the Chinese athletes, who will face a challenging journey to improve their standings against elite competitors with the Paris Olympics less than a year away.
In the previous world championships held in Oregon, USA, China had a better showing, winning two golds, one silver, and three bronzes. Wang Jia’nan made history by becoming the first man from the Chinese mainland to win long jump gold at the worlds. Feng Bin was another standout performer, clinching gold in the women’s discus throw by upsetting Olympic champion Valarie Allman and four-time worlds champion Sandra Perkovic.
This year, events such as men’s and women’s race walking, women’s throwing, and men’s jump were expected to yield gold for China. However, both Wang and Feng were unable to defend their titles. Feng achieved a second personal best of 68.20 meters, earning her a bronze medal, while veteran shot putter Gong Lijiao secured the other bronze in her ninth world championships.
Several factors contributed to China’s disappointing performance this year, including the absence from international competitions in recent years and a lack of promising runners.
Although Chinese sprinters withdrew from the worlds to concentrate on the Hangzhou Asian Games, China was still considered a strong contender for medals in the men’s and women’s 35-kilometer race walking and the women’s 20-kilometer race walking.
Unfortunately, a seventh-place finish by Ma Zhenxia in the women’s 20-kilometer race walking was the best result achieved by the Chinese race walkers. Athletes cited failure to adapt to the climate and track conditions as reasons for their subpar performances.
Liu Hong, one of the fastest race walkers in history, noted that European race walkers have made significant progress by maintaining an intensive race schedule. Chinese race walkers often achieve personal bests in domestic races but struggle to acclimate to international competitions. Liu, 36, stated that the absence of Chinese athletes from international competitions over the past two years due to COVID-19 has widened the gap between Chinese and the world’s elite athletes. This year marked Liu’s eighth appearance at the worlds.
Gong Lijiao shared Liu’s sentiment, expressing that she felt somewhat rusty at the worlds after a year without international competitions. Gong plans to participate in the Diamond League, an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions, to maintain her form.
During the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Chinese sprinters, led by Su Bingtian, made a significant impact in the 100m and 4x100m relay races. However, two years later, the Chinese sprinting team was absent from the worlds for the first time since 2009, revealing a concerning shortage of young sprinters.
To bridge the gap before the Paris Olympic Games next year, it is crucial for Chinese athletes to engage in more communications and competitions with elite athletes in international events. This will not only help them adapt to the European climate but also improve their performance against the world’s best athletes.
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