The "headlines" about Chinese track and field in the past two days are "Su Shen's comeback".
On February 27, Guangdong team players Su Bingtian (second from left) and Chen Guanfeng (second from right) in the final. On the same day, in the men's 60m final of the 2024 National Indoor Track and Field Grand Prix (1st Station) held in Xipu, Chengdu, Guangdong player Su Bingtian won the second place with a time of 6.66 seconds, and teammate Chen Guanfeng won the championship with a time of 6.65 seconds. Xinhua News Agency (photo by Liu Haiyun).
At the 2024 National Indoor Athletics Grand Prix (first stop) that started yesterday, "Asian Flyer" Su Bingtian returned to make his 2024 season debut. In the end, in the men's 60-meter final, Su Bingtian won 6He finished second in 66 seconds, and his Guangdong teammate Chen Guanfeng finished with 6Won the championship with a time of 65 seconds.
On the same day, Su Bingtian completed "two shots" in one day: the "first shot" in the morning ended with 6The 70-second time ranked first in the group and finally ranked second in the preliminaries, while Chen Guanfeng finished with 669 seconds ranked first in the preliminaries; In the afternoon "second shot", the two crossed the line almost at the same time, and Chen Guanfeng won 001 seconds to win.
On February 27, Guangdong team players Su Bingtian (left) and Chen Guanfeng in the final. On the same day, in the men's 60m final of the 2024 National Indoor Track and Field Grand Prix (1st Station) held in Xipu, Chengdu, Guangdong player Su Bingtian won the second place with a time of 6.66 seconds, and teammate Chen Guanfeng won the championship with a time of 6.65 seconds. Xinhua News Agency (photo by Liu Haiyun).
It's also a miracle that he didn't return to the top.
The return of the king" "This result is good, six or six Shun" ......Regarding the return of "Su Shen", the majority of netizens and fans enthusiastically left messages to give the best wishes to the idols. But in terms of results, "Su Shen" is obviously not a real return. Compared with the previous Olympic cycle, his results in the "first game" of the Olympic year prove that he is still a certain distance from his peak.
In March 2021, Su Bingtian, who had been away from the competition for more than 500 days, ran 6.49 seconds in the 60-meter race of the National Indoor Invitational Championships (North China Division), making a good start to his crazy 2021. And Su Bingtian's result yesterday was not as good as his first official race last season, when he finished 6He won the championship with a time of 59 seconds.
If you look back at his best results, the gap is even more stark, with Su Bingtian finishing 6He finished second with a time of 42 seconds and set an Asian record; In the men's 100m semifinals of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Su Bingtian finished with 9He set a new Asian record in 83 seconds and became the first Chinese athlete to qualify for the Olympic men's 100m final, while Su Bingtian scored 6In 29 seconds, for the first time, the first 60-meter segment of the 100 meters of human beings was brought into 6The 30-second mark.
Some netizens said that in the first game after the comeback, athletes may not be able to play their best, and it is normal to not adapt. But looking back at Su Bingtian's career, especially comparing the years when he ushered in his explosive years, you will find that the performance in the first game of the season can almost truly reflect his winter training results and the competitive level and state of the new season.
These, of course, are normal. It can even be said that for Su Bingtian, who has experienced countless injuries and is about to turn 35 years old and can retire successfully, it is already a miracle that he can still run such a result. His attitude towards the game also reflects his responsibility and responsibility as a meritorious veteran, "In the first game of 2024, cherish every game, try your best to do your best, and wish everyone a smooth and prosperous new year!" Su Bingtian said after the game yesterday that his physical condition is getting better and better, "We must test whether the body meets the requirements of the competition through the amount of training and intensity." Now both the coaching staff and the team are cautious, but they are not in a hurry, the main thing is to qualify for the Paris Olympics. ”
Saving points? "Break 10"? It's so hard!
In the men's 100-meter individual event of the Paris Olympics, we may not see Su Bingtian! A very well-known former national sprint coach gave such a "very regrettable" judgment in an exchange with reporters not long ago - this is of course a judgment given by an old coach based on the actual situation of athletes and years of experience.
In 2023, Su Bingtian announced that the season would be scrapped due to injury - due to the impact of age and injury, his physical condition is very complicated, and even the strange phenomenon of "not sweating" appears, and he also asked Academician Zhong Nanshan for diagnosis. Giving up the Hangzhou Asian Games is regarded as a "strong man breaking his wrist" - the goal is to create another glory in the Paris Olympics the following year. However, in the eyes of industry insiders, compared with "creating brilliance again", Su Bingtian thinks more about how to maximize the qualification for the Olympic Games with a healthy body.
Because Su Bingtian has been hanging up the exemption card for a long time, there is no world ranking, and in the current competitive state, he must compete for the "ticket" of the Olympic 100 meters through limited time and competition. It is understood that there are two channels for men's 100-meter athletes to participate in the Paris Olympics, first, to run directly within the Olympic standard, which is very difficult, because the Olympic standard is 10.00 seconds, and no Chinese athlete has reached the standard so far (Xie Zhenye ran 9.97 seconds in the Asian Games final, but it was not recognized because of the excessive wind speed); Second, get a ticket to Paris with Olympic points. Points are calculated based on the results of the tournament from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024.
Su Bingtian has not competed since July 1 last year, so naturally there are no points, and the outdoor season only started in April, and the Olympic points will expire on June 30, and it will only be more than two months to complete the game. According to the rules of the Athletics Federation, there must be at least five valid results. Then ask Su Bingtian to arrange about 10 games in two months, whether from the perspective of physical fatigue or psychological pressure, it is not easy to achieve good results. As a veteran who has been on the battlefield for a long time and sees the risk of injury very thoroughly, Su Bingtian is unlikely to be in danger and fight hard to score Olympic points in order to meet the standard.
Since it is not realistic for a veteran to qualify for the Olympics through Olympic points, there is only one way left - "break 10". But with Su Bingtian's current age and state, it is extremely difficult to complete the "breaking 10" in a limited competition in just two months. You must know that Su Bingtian's best result in the whole season in 2022 is only 10.15 seconds, and in 2023, he has not run more than 100 meters at all, and his first result this season once again proves that "breaking 10" is really small for the current "Su Shen". But relatively speaking, if Su Bingtian wants to return to the Olympic 100-meter track, it seems that the only way to "break 10" is to fight.
The last shift is the relay
There are many signs that Su Bingtian is willing to give up a season and do everything he can to get back on the track, with the primary goal of helping the Chinese sprint relay team get on the Olympic stage.
Just last month, the Chinese Athletics Association released a draft of the selection methods for the 2024 Paris Olympics. In a word: the Chinese sprint relay team will not conduct special selection, and the selection threshold is: 10.10 seconds for men and 11.25 seconds for women in the 100-meter performance in the past three years. Many track and field fans immediately concluded that this was "escorting" Su Bingtian to Paris - the men's 100-meter standard line for the Paris Olympics was 10 seconds, and Su Bingtian ran 9.83 seconds at the Tokyo Olympics, which was in line with the "within three years" timeline set by the Chinese Athletics Association.
The relay event is different from the 100-meter individual event, and the selection system is scientific and necessary for veterans like Su Bingtian. In the relay event, it is not only necessary to see the absolute speed of the runners, but also to have a better ability to resist pressure and a sense of competition in terms of competition experience and psychological quality, which is also a very important consideration. As long as Su Bingtian can appear in one of them in a healthy state, even if his absolute speed is not as good as his peak, his leadership role and tournament experience will be extremely valuable for the whole team.
According to the "Notice on Announcing the List of Participants in the 4 100-meter Relay Test" issued by the Chinese Athletics Association, Su Bingtian will also participate in the 4 100-meter relay test at the indoor running gallery of the Xipu Base in Sichuan on the 29th of this month, and his Guangdong teammates Chen Guanfeng and Yan Haibin will also participate. It is not so much a "test" as it can be seen as an examination of which players can be better partners with Su Bingtian and Xie Zhenye, who have been selected, so as to find the best combination. The relay will be held in Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, from 4 to 5 May, before the World Championships will be held before the pair will be confirmed to qualify for the Olympic Games, where the top 14 finishers will go straight to the men's 4,000m event in Paris. And the impact on this "ticket" is undoubtedly much more certain for Su Bingtian.
The beginning of the 2024 Chinese track and field is immersed in the joy of the return of "Su Shen", and it is expected that he can get the Olympic ticket as he wishes. Witnessing the perfect curtain call of Asia's greatest 100m athlete on the international stage in Paris is undoubtedly the most happy finale.
*: Shangguan News.
Process edit: u028