Chinese sprinter makes history at Tokyo Games

From hurdler Liu Xiang's Athens miracle to Su Bingtian's dash to glory in Tokyo, China's athletes have come a long way on the track in recent years.

Sprinter Su Bingtian ran into the record books at the Tokyo 2020 Games on August 1 when he became the first Chinese athlete to qualify for the men's 100-meter sprint final at an Olympics, setting a new Asian record on the way.

In 1932, Liu Changchun, as the only representative of Chinese athletes, set off on his own to drift at sea for more than 20 days and traveled 10,000 miles to participate in the 10th Olympic Games in Los Angeles. He went there just to remind the world that China still stood as a country.

Liu told Ta Kung Pao newspaper during an interview that "I, a Chinese athlete, go to the Olympics alone this time and traveled 10,000 miles. At this moment, despite the sufferings China has had to bear, may all of you rush bravely forward and may our descendants be relieved from such kind of suffering in the coming days!"

Present day 2021, Sprinter Su Bingtian made history by becoming the first Chinese athlete to reach the Olympic 100m final. Su Bingtian said, "For me, through so many years of hard work, I can finally stand on the 100m (final) track. I think I have fulfilled not only the dream of mine, but also the dream of our predecessors!"

Su ran into the record books at the Tokyo 2020 Games on August 1 when he became the first Chinese athlete to qualify for the men's 100-meter sprint final at an Olympics, setting a new Asian record on the way.

Although Su finished sixth, he recorded a respectable time of 9.98 seconds, 0.18 seconds behind surprise winner Lamont Marcell Jacobs of Italy, who clocked 9.80 seconds.

Su stunned the athletics world when he ran his personal best of 9.83 seconds in his semifinal to qualify fastest for the final. The stunning time also made him the first Asian man to reach the men's 100m final at the Olympics in 89 years.

Japan's Takayoshi Yoshioka was the last Asian to appear in the final, finishing last in the event at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics.

"Actually, I am very happy to run under 10 seconds twice in such a short time," Su said after the race.

"Making it into the finals I have already given all I have."

Fred Kerley from the US took silver with a time of 9.84, while Canada's Andre de Grasse won bronze.