Chinese athletes reaching for the skies

Sprinter Su Bingtian of China set a new Asian record when he clocked 9.83 seconds in the men's 100-meter sprint semifinal at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. Although he came sixth in the final, he clocked a respectable 9.98 seconds, 0.18 seconds behind surprise winner Lamont Marcell Jacobs of Italy, who clocked 9.80 seconds.

Apart from setting the record for Asia, Su is also the first Chinese to make it to the men's 100-meter final at the Olympics. He has done remarkably well, considering that, at 32, he is much older than his competitors, who were mostly in their 20s. Also, his 172 centimeter height is not what one would call a dream height for a sprinter, as many of them are 190 centimeters or taller.

The spirit of constantly surpassing himself and the Olympic motto of "Faster, Higher, Stronger" inspired Su, who persisted even though most Chinese track and field athletes retire after reaching 28.

In doing so, Su also broke the jinx around Asians and their sprinting abilities. Chinese athlete Liu Xiang proved it earlier by winning gold in the men's 110-meter hurdles at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and now Su has done it in the men's 100-meter sprint.

Hopefully, there will be more Asians, particularly Chinese, who will excel in track and field events in the future.

Su and other athletes are further proof of China's emergence as a sports power. When Chinese athlete Liu Changchun participated in the men's 100-meter and 200-meter sprints at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, the entire Chinese contingent comprised just six people, and Liu had to seek donations from Chinese Americans to pay for his return fare.

Today, the Chinese contingent is 777-member strong and it had won 28 gold medals till Monday afternoon. We hope Chinese athletes achieve more glory in the sports arena in the days to come.