Throwing down a gauntlet

With the 2026 athletics season over, Chinese javelin thrower Yan Ziyi is preparing for another winter of training, hoping to build on a year in which she moved within striking distance of the world record.

On May 23, the day after her 18th birthday, Yan threw 71.74 meters at the Diamond League meeting in Xiamen, setting Asian, world U20 and Diamond League records. It was the second-longest throw in women's javelin history, just 54 centimeters short of the world record of 72.28m set by Czech thrower Barbora Spotakova in 2008.

The distance came as a surprise, even to Yan. Her previous personal best was 65.89m, and she had expected to reach 66m or 67m during the 2026 season.

"I didn't expect to produce that result," she said. "I had thrown 71m once during winter training. Perhaps the coordination with my coach was particularly good, and I had accumulated a lot of energy."

The challenge now is to make such performances more consistent. After winning all five of her Diamond League appearances and taking Asian Games gold in Nagoya, Yan is learning that success at the highest level requires more than the ability to produce an exceptional throw. It also depends on refining your technique, managing your physical condition and knowing when to conserve energy.

Yan's rise has been rapid. Born in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, in 2008, she began training at a local sports school at around the age of 10. Coach Lu Xiurong spotted her at a local sports meeting and introduced her to athletics.

Shot put was initially her main event, and she spent several years training in the discipline, with modest results.

After Yan won both the shot put and javelin at the 2023 ISF U15 Gymnasiade, Lu decided to shift her focus entirely to javelin. "Her height, explosive power and coordination made her well suited to it, and she was particularly quick to pick up the technique," Lu said.

A year later, Yan broke the world U20 record and went on to win the 2024 world U20 title.

Although eligible for shot put at that summer's Paris Olympics, Yan was barred from the javelin competition under rules excluding under-18s from throwing events.

In 2025, she won the national title with a 65.89m throw, setting another world U20 record.

The 2026 season brought a further leap in performance, with Yan winning the Diamond League meets in Xiamen, Oslo, Paris and Monaco before claiming the title at the tournament finals in Brussels.

At September's Asian Games in Nagoya, she delivered another decisive performance. Her opening throw of 70.46m set a Games record, improving the previous mark of 66.09m, held by China's Liu Shiying, by 4.37m. Japan's Haruka Kitaguchi, the Paris Olympic champion, took silver with 62.70m.

Yan said she had not expected to settle the contest with her opening throw. Her original plan had been to build her performance over the first two attempts, but the first throw went particularly well. She attributed the distance in part to achieving a good release angle.

Her ability to regularly establish a winning lead with her opening throw has earned her the nickname "Yan One and Done" among some fans. Yet her approach to competition is more measured than the nickname might suggest.

"Sometimes, the more calmly I approach a competition, the better I throw," she said.

That composure was tested before the Asian Games. At the World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest in September, Yan withdrew after two attempts. She later said she had been experiencing foot pain and attributed the problem to overexertion, explaining that her excitement had led her to push too hard and disrupted her technique.

Yan took 15 days off from javelin-specific technical training before the Asian Games, although she continued general physical training. She resumed throwing during her warm-up in Nagoya and went on to win the final with her first attempt.

After landing at 70.46m, Yan discussed with Lu whether she should continue. If another athlete surpassed her, she would keep throwing. Otherwise, she saw little reason to use all six attempts.

"We take it one throw at a time," she said. "There are still competitions and training ahead, including winter training and next year's World Championships. You don't have to use all six attempts."

She also spoke about the need to protect her body over the long term. "If you keep exhausting your body, it will affect the later stages of your career. For my long-term development, I have to put protecting myself first, so that I can have a longer career and continue to compete for my country."

For Yan, the next step is to better understand and refine the technical details behind each throw.

She has identified release speed as one of those key elements. Even when an athlete repeats the same movement, a difference in the speed of release can affect the distance. She also studies other throwers, observing their techniques and looking for details she can learn from.

"Everyone is different, and everyone has their own strengths," she said. "I observe and learn little by little."

She places considerable trust in Lu, who has guided her since her early years in the sport. "You need a good coach, and you need to understand what your coach tells you and apply it to yourself," she said.

Describing their working relationship, she put it more simply: "The coach points the way, and I follow."

Away from the glare of the competitive spotlight, Yan's interests are like those of many young people her age. She enjoys sleeping late on weekends, watching short videos, playing games and listening to music.

Lu understands that some time away from training is also necessary. "To be honest, she spends almost every day of the year on the training ground. Playing a game now and then is also a way to relax," she said.

Yan's ambitions have grown alongside her results. Having set both world U20 and Asian records, she now has the world record in her sights.

The 2027 World Athletics Championships, scheduled to take place in Beijing from Sept 10 to 19, will be a major target. Before then, another winter of training awaits — an opportunity to build the consistency and technical foundation that her record-breaking season has shown she will need.

"Even after I stop competing, I hope that when people mention javelin, they will remember me," Yan said.