High jumper Lu Jiawen takes part in the competition at the Chinese National Games on September 21, 2021 in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province. Photo: VCG

Twenty-year-old Chinese athlete Lu Jiawen won a precious silver medal for China at the women's high jump final event at the ­Castiglione International Meeting in Grosseto, Italy last weekend. 

Lu competed with eight other members at the final. She had performed beautifully in her three attempts of the 1.70 meters, 1.80 meters and the 1.85 meters, by which the last record made the young Chinese track and field athlete to secure her second place of the game. 

Competitive Ukrainian high jumper Iryna Gerashchenko won the gold with a record five centimeters higher than Lu.   

Despite Lu's medal not being gold, her success at the event still shed light on China's potential at this particular track and field event at the Paris Olympic Games in 2024.

High jump has not always been considered as China's strongest event. The world athletics continental tour 2022 was like a game before the Paris Games for Team China to evaluate their competitiveness as well as making preparations to the 2024 Olympics. 

"It is so important for Chinese athletes to compete at international Games as such, the stableness of their mentality and performance can improve when competing with international athletes, the best practice is competition," Luo Le, a sport critic in Beijing, told the Global Times.      

Beside Lu who won the silver medal at the women's high jump, China's athletes Fang Yaoqing and Zhu ­Yaming have also won a silver medal and a bronze medal at the men's triple jump event. 

Lu told media that while continuing to improve her physical ­fitness and getting more competition experience, she is confident that she can bag a medal for China at the Olympics.