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Su makes history with sub-10 second 100m run
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CHINA'S Su Bingtian became the first Asian-born athlete to run the 100 meters under 10 seconds, when the 25-year-old clocked 9.99 seconds at the IAAF Diamond League Eugene Grand Prix in Oregon on Saturday.
Su finished third in the sprint, which was won by American Tyson Gay in 9.88 seconds. Gay’s compatriot Mike Rodgers took silver clocking 9.90.
“To run a sub-10 seconds is a milestone for China. I feel so proud to write my name into the history books,” the Guangdong Province native told Xinhua after the race. “I’ll work harder in the future instead of resting on my laurels from today’s performance.”
Su started the race from the first lane and led the first 30 meters before being overtaken by his American opponents in the latter part of the race.
Before Su, Zhang Peimeng was the fastest Chinese in the 100, achieving a personal best of 10 seconds at the 2013 world championships in Moscow.
Two Nigerian-born Qataris also managed to beat the 10-second barrier before Su – Femi Ogunode ran an Asian record of 9.93 at the Asian Games in South Korea last year, surpassing compatriot Samuel Francis’ 9.99 created at the Asian championships in 2007. The 100 world record of 9.58 is held by Usain Bolt, which the Jamaican star set at the 2009 Berlin world championships.
Japanese teenager Yoshihide Kiryu ran a wind-assisted unofficial 9.87 at a meet in Austin, Texas, in March.
“This is a big encouragement for me,” Su said. “At the last world championships in Moscow, Zhang Peimeng’s ninth-place finish of 10 seconds (in the semis) stopped him from entering the final. I felt sorry for him, but I also knew that a sub-10-second timing is not a mission impossible for Chinese sprinters.”
“This year’s world championships will be held in China, I want to create some miracle for my country in both the 100 meters and 4x100 relay,” he added.
Su said he and his teammates will mainly focus on the 4x100 relay training in the two months before August’s world championships in Beijing, believing that China has a chance to finish in the top eight.
Retired hurdling icon Liu Xiang was in the crowd at the Eugene Grand Prix and watched Su’s race. He walked up to congratulate Su immediately afterwards, describing his performance as “absolutely superb!”
Su revealed that Liu gave him some tips before the race. “He told me to keep my own pace from the start to the last moment. I was focusing on my own race today and did not allow any disturbance from others.”
Su said he was in good form and felt relaxed for Saturday’s race. “I told myself to make good use of this chance, which is my last big race before the Beijing world championships. And I did it!”
As for becoming the new flag holder for China’s track and field following Liu’s retirement, Su remained modest, saying that Liu would always be his idol.
“Liu is China’s greatest athlete, who carried Chinese people’s dream for long. I admire him for his strong mind in the face of difficulties, but right now I still don’t dare to think about taking the flag over from him. To beat 10 seconds has been my dream, and I have just realized that.”
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