Asian performers

freedom1

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World Leading 27-1¾ (8.27) LJ By China's Xiongfeng Su
 

StarWars

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Nice. Always good to shift focus from black versus white. I am a bit surprised they haven't brought more indoor (60 meter) talent to the table. Has an Asian ever broken 6.60?
 

ToughJ.Riggins

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I think Asians- like whites- would be competitive with blacks in the 50 and 60 meters. In the 100 meters the top blacks seem to run about 0.2 seconds faster. Maybe steroids increase the tendency for the minor black hamstring strength advantage amongst elite athletes. Whites sprinters tend to power their running more with strong quads and their stride isn't quite as open due to sometimes slightly shorter leg length of those the same size as the black sprinters. Christophe Lemaitre is going to change the way people look at white 100 meter sprinters though. He will break 10 flat, maybe even 9.9 by 2012 and will have an outside shot to get a medal in 2012! I don't think he has a shot to beat a healthy Bolt, but a Silver or Bronze are a possibility! Christophe is a tall guy, with an open stride that eats up ground!
 

StarWars

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I don't think Asians are as competitive as us in the 60 meter. There have been countless whites under 6.6, and one even under 6.5. Asians actually hold their own better at the 100/200 than 60. It's weird but there you have it. It may have something to do with Asians acquiring the fast twitch gene at a far lesser rate than whites (80%) or West African blacks (99%).

I loved watching Liu Xiang beat everyone though. He will be racing in Doha. If you don't know him he's a hurdler.Edited by: StarWars
 

StarWars

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Xiang moves on to the semis. I don't think he will make it to the final based on his form but I hope he does. Xiang is more of a 110 meter hurdler.
 

jacknyc

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I don't think there is much of an indoor season in Asia, which is probably why there are few good 60m times historically for Asians.
 

StarWars

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jacknyc said:
I don't think there is much of an indoor season in Asia, which is probably why there are few good 60m times historically for Asians.

That's a shame.
 

jacknyc

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Tsui Chi Ho of Hong Kong set a new National Record of 10.28 in the 100 meters.
 

waterbed

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in sprinting 100 meter east asians are as good as whites, but we have a faster 200 meter, 400 meter,and much beter middel distant times 800 meter 1500, 1600 etc. and we have WR shot put, discuss trow,javelin throw,wr points decathlon,triple jump outdoor wr,1 cm behind in high jump wr( pretty good for a race where there a made movies about that they can't jump) only 9 cm behind long jump WR.the only things easdt asians have better times is hour races or such things which are not much races of and the marathon.
 

jacknyc

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Some good sprinting at the Asian Championships -

10.21 Bingtian SU - China (21 yrs old)
10.28 Masashi ERIGUCHI - JapanEdited by: jacknyc
 
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Zhang Peimeng.

A nice article on Zhang Peimeng.


http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/790083.shtml#.UcGct_m1F51




When he's not in training, Olympian and national record-holding sprinter Zhang Peimeng enjoys far less fast-paced activities. Besides studying for his master's, he likes to listen to soft, quiet music, such as French pianist Richard Clayderman or new age group Bandari.

"I enjoy the great power contained in the calmness," he said.

Zhang, 26, is trying his best to stay calm as the Chinese media now touts him as the country's next "flying man" after the star hurdler Liu Xiang. The sudden attention comes on the wings of Zhang setting three national records in the past three months.

This rising star is fresh off a 100-meter dash time of 10.09 seconds at a May 21 national sprint competition at the Bird's Nest. Although not as impressive as the 10.04 performance which shot him to instant stardom on April 27, he said it proved that he's not a flash in the pan and is now a solid, under-10.10 seconds competitor. He's also continued to have solid showings in 200-meter events. On May 18, he set a new outdoor track record for 200 meters, clocking in at 20.47. In March, he set a 200-meter indoor record with a time of 20.75.

Despite the exciting new times, Zhang said he doesn't enjoy the glare of the media, which expects him to become a star and rejuvenate China's neglected track and field events. He hates the pressure.

In his mind, there are so many runners in front of him - and in front of his gold medal dreams - who are almost impossible to surpass. The farthest one is Usain Bolt, the Jamaican sprinter who set the world record at 9.58 seconds.

"It's not that I don't have enough confidence. We are just not at the same level," he said.

Humble training grounds

Over the past six years, Zhang has trained under coach Li Qing with the Tsinghua University track and field team while pursuing his bachelor's and then master's degrees in sports training and teaching at Beijing Sports University.

Zhang completes 90-minute workouts six days a week, spent mostly at a chaotic, indoor track filled with students jogging, playing volleyball and doing other exercises.

Compared to the messy milieu of the gym and the thrill of the 100- and 200-meter events, Zhang's precise muscle and body training in the gym is calm and steady - the calm in the middle of the storm.

He lifts barbells, waves weighted ropes up and down and rolls a fitness ball under the guidance of coach Li to develop key muscle groups. Zhang rarely gets injured.

Li, a coach as well as a sports biomechanics professor at Tsinghua University, said that athletes on the Tsinghua University track and field team are different from those on the national or municipal teams.

"Their job is to win gold medals," Li said. "We only add brilliance to present splendor when we get lucky and win. [But] because we are a team of students, our athletes can have more options after graduation."

Although the team has little pressure on it, Zhang considers himself more ambitious than his team members.

"If I reach great heights through this, it can change my entire life," Zhang said. "I can use this stepping stone to reach a higher state and see what exciting things may happen. If you're just an average athlete, you don't have this excitement."

Olympic dreams

"The Olympic gold medal, I want it even in my dreams," reads Zhang's Weibo account. Having represented China at both the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, Zhang still has his sights set on the gold, but sees so many who run faster, such as Bolt and American sprinter Justin Gatlin, whose personal best in the 100 meters is 9.79.

Zhang has become good friends with Gatlin after seeing him at international competitions over the years and bonding over dinner, but jokes that he can only beat him on an off-day.

Zhang can go into great detail about Gatlin's unique style. "He's shorter than me, and he takes fewer steps in the 100 meters, so every step he takes is larger than mine. You can imagine his power and strength," he said, full of admiration.

But Zhang believes he can shorten the distance between himself and top runners in the world by first breaking the 10-second threshold, which he hopes can also attract needed attention for China's sprinters, much like Liu Xiang did for hurdling.

"I think Chinese people are not familiar with and don't know how to appreciate [sprinting] events," coach Li said. "The country doesn't give many subsidies to short-distance running teams."

A natural talent

Winning national competitions is nothing new for Zhang. As early as 2007, he won the national championship for the 100 meter dash.

Li attributes Zhang's recent improvements to technique tweaks that tightened up Zhang's start, yet emphasized that this wasn't an overnight miracle, but rather a steady progression after years of training - and a natural gift.

Zhang was born into an athletic family in Beijing in 1987. His parents were both track and field athletes specializing in the high jump. But he didn't plan on becoming a professional runner at first. His family was even against that idea.

"They wanted me to focus on my schoolwork, but I rebelled," Zhang said. "I always fought with others like a typical teenage boy."

Sprinting first called to him in elementary school, as the track and field team was a way to avoid sitting in the classroom all day.

When competing in meets, he found himself among the top three finishers. With this encouraging start, and the fact that many teachers and coaches saw potential in him, Zhang matriculated at the high school attached to Renmin University - one of the best in Beijing.

Zhang also tried the high jump and hurdles, but none of them stuck. "I just love 100-meter sprinting. It's the fiercest, the most exciting," he said. "At the starting line, everyone has this fire in his belly."

"So many good things have happened to me because I can run fast. And as God has given me such a gift, I think I should make full use of it," he said.
 

jacknyc

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Youxue mo of China won the 100m at the World Youth Championships in a time 10.35. He was the only non-black in the race.
 

jacknyc

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Yoshihide Kiryu ran a 10.05 (1.6w) in local meet in Japan today. But last week ran only 10.46 (-3.4) in Tokyo at a big international meet.
He reminds me of Craig Pickering in that he runs faster against slower competition, and slower against faster competition.
It seems that when he is behind and can't catch the leaders, he gets stressed, ties up, and runs slower. When he's in front, he relaxes and runs faster.
Craig Pickering was like that, which is why he ran so much better as a junior than he did as a senior.
Kiryu is only a college freshman, so he still has time to improve and could finally crack the 10 second barrier. But in order to have an impact at the international level he will have to learn to relax and run his own race even when he is behind.
 

jacknyc

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Yoshihide Kiryu, from Japan, ran a 9.87 with 3.3w at the Texas Relays.
It was the fastest time of the day.
The time is wind aided, but since he was below 9.90, I'm sure he would have broken 10 flat with legal wind.

As a reminder, Kiryu was the Japanese HSer who set a World Junior record with a time of 10.01. But since then, his performances were up and down. He kind of choked against big name, non-Japanese, competition....which is understandable considering he was a high schooler.
So I think this performance represents a break through not only time-wise, but mentally too. He beat American competition in Texas.
I expect him to break 10 flat (wind legal) soon.
 

white lightning

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Great performance but let me put this into perspective. It's not a guarantee. Nicolas Macrozonaris ran two windy sub 10's in the same day to wind the canadain national champs many years ago. Yes 2 sub 10's in the same day in different races both windy. He never went sub 10 in his career. The closest Macro came was a 10.03 and that was at altitude in Mexico. So it's a great performance but still no guarantee. Who would have though Matt Shirvinton would go run a wind legal 10.03 0.1 at 19 and never go sub 10. Shirvo went sub 10.10 multiple times but never broke the barrier. Hope the kid does it eventually but everyone ran incredible times that day.
 
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jacknyc

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Here's an article about Kiryu's recent sub 9.90w performance.
Something I didn't realize earlier, is that he beat Ryan Bailey, who was 5th in the 100m at the Olympics. So it was a very strong performance not only because of the time, but because of the competition he beat.
http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0002045713
 

mastermulti

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Here's an article about Kiryu's recent sub 9.90w performance.
Something I didn't realize earlier, is that he beat Ryan Bailey, who was 5th in the 100m at the Olympics. So it was a very strong performance not only because of the time, but because of the competition he beat.
http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0002045713


I had actually noticed him at the time. Then a week and a half later a 9.93 and 2nd to Asafa which further showed the value of Kiryu's run.
I have liked Ryan Bailey for some time. Saw him interviewed and his reactions towards Christophe once and thought he seemed very decent (unlike Daniel Bailey who ignored Keller's handshake offer after a race in Germany)
 

mastermulti

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8:09 pm, May 15, 2015

The Japan NewsTeen sprint star Yoshihide Kiryu’s bid to become the first Japanese to break 10 seconds in the 100 meters was further delayed after the Toyo University freshman pulled out of the final at the Kanto Intercollegiate Championships on Friday in Yokohama.
Kiryu, whose career-best of 10.01 puts him No. 2 on the all-time Japan list, suffered a left hamstring strain while clocking 10.37 in the semifinal, held about four hours earlier at Nissan Stadium.
In Kiryu’s absence, Nihon University’s Asuka Cambridge won the 100 in 10.33.Speech

 
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