Staged to perfection

Olympic aces

Fresh from their inspirational exploits at Tokyo 2020, China's Olympians stole the show at the National Games, with sprinter Su Bingtian shining brightest.

The 32-year-old pocketed gold medals in the 100m and 4x100m relay, along with a silver in the 4x200m relay in Xi'an. On arguably the most memorable night of the Games, over 17,000 spectators roared Su on to 100m glory at Xi'an Olympic Sports Center as he clocked 9.95 seconds to once again smash through the 10-second barrier.

"This year's National Games are very likely to be the last Games of my career. So ending with golds is really special for me," said Su after winning the 4x100m relay.

Su cemented his legacy at Tokyo 2020 when he became the first Chinese to reach an Olympic 100m final, refreshing the Asian record to 9.83 in the process in his semifinal.

"Our country's sprinters are gaining fans, but we still trail the world's top sprinters. The progress we have made shows we are going in the right direction," said Su.

"I hope the younger generation of sprinters can seize their chances in more quality events and grow through this process, prepare for the Olympics and gain experience.

"Four years for me is too long. If I was a few years younger I would consider participating in the next National Games. But at my age, it's tough for a sprinter to keep going. As the next National Games will be jointly hosted by Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, as a Guangdong native, I invite all of you to come to feel the warmness of the Greater Bay Area."

Wang Shun made the biggest splash in the National Games swimming pool, bagging a whopping six gold medals.

"It was a very long race schedule and there were so many disciplines to compete in. It was a new challenge for me. My body is exhausted, and I felt I could barely finish the races. But I think I'm improving," said Wang, who represented Zhejiang province.

"I want to tell the old me from 10 years ago that thankfully I kept training until now and my efforts have paid off. And I want to tell the future me, 10 years from now, to just keep pushing for the next decade."

The 27-year-old Wang is currently the oldest member of the Chinese swimming team, but he only rose to prominence this summer after winning gold in the 200m individual medley at the Tokyo Olympics.

Wang's Tokyo gold was China's first Olympic men's IM title. The victory also saw him become only the second Chinese male swimmer to win Olympic gold.

He made his Olympic debut in 2012 when he failed to reach the podium. Four years later he won 200m IM bronze at the Rio Games, with his victory in Tokyo coming as a major surprise.

"After the National Games, I need to keep focusing on my training. I also need to relax and rest for a while. There's more pressure on me, but I simply need to get used to this. I will keep fighting along with my teammates and coaches," said Wang.

"I really enjoyed the National Games, and will keep moving forward to my next goal－the Paris Olympics."

This year's National Games played host to 50 gold medalists from the Tokyo Olympics, including China's much-vaunted new breed of athletes who continued to show their star quality, including 14-year-old diver Quan Hongchan and 21-year-old shooter Yang Qian.

"The National Games is the biggest multisport event in our country, and each delegation considers it an important platform to test their sports development," said GASC official Liu.

"The athletes overcame the challenges of the pandemic and medical quarantine following their return from Tokyo to deliver great performances at the Games."