New generation leaps into global contention

Star hurdler Liu Xiang proved to the world that China could compete in track events when he upended the field at the 2004 Athens Olympics to win the nation's first gold medal in athletics.

A trio of fresh-faced newcomers has gamely stepped into his shoes to show China can contend in field events, too.

Fully enjoying their breakout moment, Wang Jianan, Gao Xinglong and Li Jinzhe put on a show at the world championships on Tuesday for an ecstatic home crowd that screamed for every clean leap and groaned with every foul in the long jump, an event traditionally dominated by Americans and Europeans.