Athletics at the National Games of China

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Nanjing Olympic Sports Center
, which hosted the athletics for the 2005 National Games

Chinese athletes, ahead of the annual Chinese Athletics Championships
.

Records in 1993 and 1997

The competition has had an impact beyond national level through its record-breaking history, in particular by middle- and long-distance athletes coached by Ma Junren. Known as "Ma's Army", he exercised strict control over his group of specially-selected rural peasant girls and applied tonics of turtle's blood and caterpillar fungus (ophiocordyceps sinensis). At the 1993 National Games three world records were broken by his athletes: Qu Yunxia ran 3:50.46 minutes for the 1500 metres while Wang Junxia ran 8:06.11 minutes for the 3000 metres and 29:31.78 minutes for the 10,000 metres. All three records greatly exceeded the previous marks and all stood for over twenty years.[2][3][4][5] Qu's mark was finally beaten by Genzebe Dibaba in 2015 and Wang's 10,000 m time was beaten by Almaz Ayana in 2016.

The 1993 Games also brought a slew of

4×400 m relay.[6] Chinese national records were also broken by Zhang Yu (12.64 seconds for the 100 metres hurdles and Ma Miaolan (6750 pts for the heptathlon).[7]

The performances in 1993 were seen as part of an exhibition of Chinese sporting prowess in light of Beijing's bid for the 2000 Summer Olympics, which was to be accepted or rejected by the International Olympic Committee just days after the closure of the national games.[8]

The

4×100 m relay (featuring Li) ran another Asian record of 42.23 seconds.[6] Xia Fengyuan and Sun Ripeng both set long-standing Chinese records in the 5000 m and the 3000 metres steeplechase that year.[10]

The depth of women's distance track performances in 1993 and 1997 is easily visible in the all-time lists which includes seven of the top ten times ever in the 1500 m,[11] and eight of the top ten times in the 3000 m.[12] Wang Junxia's 10,000 m record remained twenty seconds faster than any other woman, until it was beaten in 2016. It remains the second fastest time ever.[13]

Performances by Ma's athletes have left a tainted athletic legacy – although his women athletes broke new ground in distance running they were accompanied by accusations of

International Association of Athletics Federations inducted world record holder Wang Junxia into its Hall of Fame in 2012, drawing condemnation from parts of the press internationally.[14][15]

Editions

Year Edition Date Host city Athletics events
Chinese National Games
1910 I Nanjing
1914 II Beijing
1924 III
Wuchang
1930 IV Hangzhou
1933 V Nanjing
1935 VI Shanghai
1948 VII Shanghai
National Games of the People's Republic of China
1959 I Beijing
1965 II Beijing
1975 III Beijing
1979 IV Beijing
1983 V Shanghai
1987 VI Guangzhou
1993 VII Beijing/Sichuan/Qinhuangdao
1997 VIII October Shanghai
2001 IX 17–23 November Guangzhou 46
2005 X 17–22 October Jiangsu 46
2009 XI 21–26 October Shandong 46
2013 XII 7–11 September Shenyang 46
2017 XIII 2–7 September Tianjin 46

See also

References

  1. ^ Chinese National Games. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2013-03-29.
  2. ^ a b McKay, Duncan (2000-09-07). Hopes raised for war on drugs as Ma's army beats Olympic retreat. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2013-03-29.
  3. ^ Poole, Teresa (1995-01-08). Record-breaking athletes desert gruelling regime of Ma's Army. The Independent. Retrieved on 2013-03-29.
  4. ^ Hersh, Phil (1993-09-14). Chinese Runners Suspect. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved on 2013-03-29.
  5. ^ Bloom, Marc (1993-09-28). TRACK AND FIELD; Amid Debate Over Chinese, What's Women's Limit?. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2013-03-29.
  6. ^ a b Asian Continental Records Archived 2014-03-09 at the Wayback Machine. Asian Athletics Association (2011-05-19. Retrieved on 2013-03-29.
  7. ^ Chinese Athletics Records - Women Outdoor Archived 2010-12-04 at the Wayback Machine. Athletics.org.cn. Retrieved on 2013-03-29.
  8. ISBN 978-0226076478
    . Retrieved on 2015-07-21.
  9. The Daily Mirror
    (1997-10-24). Retrieved on 2013-03-29.
  10. ^ Chinese Athletics Records - Men Outdoor Archived 2012-02-26 at the Wayback Machine. Athletics.org.cn. Retrieved on 2013-03-29.
  11. ^ 1500 metres Women's All-time. IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-03-29.
  12. ^ 3000 metres Women's All-time. IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-03-29.
  13. ^ 10,000 metres Women All-time. IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-03-29.
  14. ^ Hart, Simon (2012-03-09). Scandal as controversial Chinese athlete Wang Junxia enters IAAF Hall of Fame. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved on 2013-03-29.
  15. The Herald Sun
    . Retrieved on 2013-03-29.

External links

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