He Jie in the front, Yang Shaohui in the back, the national records that have been sealed for many years have been broken one after another!2023 will be a year for the Chinese men's marathon to achieve a huge breakthrough.
In December last year, the World Athletics Federation announced the standards for the Paris Olympic Games, and the men's and women's marathon events have been greatly improved compared with the last Tokyo Olympics, and the men's marathon standard of 2 hours 08 minutes and 10 seconds has exceeded the national record held by Ren Longyun at that time. Can anyone from China participate in the Paris Olympics?There are many comments on He Jie's social platform, thinking that Chinese athletes will not be able to go to the Paris Olympics. When I saw such words, I was actually a little sad and unconvinced. He Jie said, "I have a lot of energy in my heart to run to show them, Chinese athletes are okay." ”
In the Wuxi Marathon held on March 19, He Jie and Yang Shaohui gave the answer with actions. He Jie ran 2:07:30 to win the championship and break the national record. "The mood is calm and excited. He Jie, who crossed the finish line, said that the calm was because his usual training was in place, so this result was not unexpected, and the excitement was because he broke the men's marathon national record that had been in the dust for nearly 16 years, and suddenly increased the national record of 2 hours, 8 minutes and 15 seconds set by Ren Yunlong in 2007 by 45 seconds, helping the Chinese marathon enter the "207 era".
The 30-year-old Yang Shaohui also broke the original national record with a time of 2:07:49 in the Wuxi Marathon, and also met the performance standard of the men's marathon at the 2024 Paris Olympics. His highlight came at the Fukuoka Marathon on December 3, when Yang Shaohui ran a time of 2:07:09, improving the national record by 21 seconds. Yang Shaohui also became the first person in China to run to "207" twice.
In the past six months or so, from He Jie, Yang Shaohui, to Dong Guojian, Wu Xiangdong, Feng Peiyou and others, they have all tried to break through in different competitions. In Fukuoka, Feng Peiyu finished sixth with a time of 2:08:07, becoming the third Chinese male athlete to successfully meet the marathon standard of the Paris Olympics. So far, the top 5 best results in the history of Chinese marathons will all be created in 2023.
The Chinese women's marathon has also achieved good results this year, the women's marathon entry standard for the Paris Olympics is 2 hours, 26 minutes and 50 seconds, and the Nagoya Marathon and Wuxi Marathon in March this year, Zhang Deshun, Li Zhixuan, and Bai Li all ran within this standard line. Three men and three women meet the Olympic parameters, and the Chinese marathon can participate in the Paris Olympics at full capacity.
How hard they fight
He Jie broke the psychological shackles
Yang Shaohui put in double the effort
Behind the blowout of China's marathon results is the struggle of a group of outstanding athletes on the road of hard work, and He Jie and Yang Shaohui are bloody men who are in the forefront.
He Jie was born in 1998 in a peasant family in Pingluo County, Ningxia. When he was in junior high school, He Jie was selected by grassroots coaches to join the professional team. In the winter training of 2020, he began to train with coach Xiao Li, and improved his best time by 3 minutes in the Xuzhou Marathon the following year in just 4 months. Xiao Li said: "He Jie has the characteristics of an excellent athlete, and he has a bloody nature that does not admit defeat. In her eyes, He Jie is the most cooperative and able to complete the training requirements among the athletes she has led.
At the 2014 Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Games, 15-year-old He Jie was trampled on by other competitors shortly after the start of the race, but he insisted on running the remaining 10 laps barefoot and finally won the silver medal in the 5000m, and was carried out of the field by the coach directly after the race. This drive has been maintained until now, when the 24-year-old He Jie crossed the finish line of the Wuxi Marathon, he stumbled a few steps and collapsed to the ground. He admitted that the significance of his record-breaking is to break the psychological shackles of Chinese athletes, "Before, everyone would feel that we couldn't break this achievement." When I break this shackle, I believe that more people will achieve more breakthroughs. ”
Nine months later, this invisible psychological shackle was shattered, and Yang Shaohui broke He Jie's national record at the Fukuoka Marathon. Yang Shaohui, 31, is from Weishan Yi Hui Autonomous County, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province. At the age of 17, Yang Shaohui, who was in high school, represented the school in the Weishan County competition, and the young man who had never been exposed to long-distance running before became a sensation, winning the 3,000m and 5,000m championships. Yang Shaohui was favored by the coach of Dali Sports School and entered the provincial team after a year of systematic training. Yang Shaohui still remembers what his family told him when he started his sports career: "It doesn't matter if you go to school or practice sports." No matter what you do, as long as you put your heart into it, you will definitely be able to make achievements. ”
In 2020, an operation was performed because of kidney stones, and Yang Shaohui recuperated for 42 days. After returning to training, it only took Yang Shaohui 3 weeks to run 10 kilometers with the women's team at the beginning to gradually be able to keep up with the big team. At the Nanjing Marathon that year, Yang Shaohui reached the Olympic standard with a time of 2 hours, 8 minutes and 56 seconds, and qualified for the Tokyo Olympics as he wished.
If someone else pays 100 points, I have to pay 200 points. Yang Shaohui did what he said and qualified for the Olympics twice. He said: "Life is a marathon, always keep a firm heart, work hard, and the answer will not disappoint you." ”
Jiaxu Jiahui
A rising tide lifts all boats
In 2023, the marathon will be extremely popular, the formation of healthy competition among masters, and the training level will be greatly improved, under the combined influence of these factors, China's marathon good results will be blowout.
This year, road running events have been restarted one after another, the number of races has grown explosively, and high-level events have become more and more mature. More and more outstanding runners are participating more frequently, and the elite runners are forming a healthy competition, including both professional athletes and public runners, and runners of the same level frequently compete in the same field, which is conducive to stimulating excellent results, and the overall level of China's marathon will naturally rise.
The popularity of the event is the external factor that motivates good results, and the more critical internal factor is that the athletes have really improved their strength through scientific training. In recent years, a large number of athletes have gone abroad to Africa, Europe and other places to receive high-level training, competing with the world's top athletes such as Kipchoge and Bekele. Not only the athletes themselves have gained a lot, but the coaches have also found training methods that are close to the world's top level, which have been transformed into training methods suitable for Chinese athletes. The reason why the marathon performance has improved and exploded in a large area is that there has been a big breakthrough in the training level.
Under many favorable conditions, the group advantage has been formed, and after the blowout of good results, the Chinese marathon will usher in greater glory.
Beijing Evening News reporter Chen Jiakun.