Liu Junxi (left), wins the championship in the men's 60m hurdles final of the 2025 National Indoor Athletics Grand Prix and the Test Event for the 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships, in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province, on February 23, 2025. Photos: VCG
China's track and field athletes are in the midst of preparing for the national indoor athletics championships, which are scheduled to be held in Jinan, East China's Shandong Province, from March 7 to 9.
The event, which will also serve as the last chance for the Chinese athletes to qualify into the 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province, is expected to witness the emergence of domestic talents.
Ahead of the national championships, the Chinese athletes were delivering a compelling resurgence in the national indoor athletics Grand Prix in February, including record-smashing performances ranging from teenage phenomena to the triumphant return of seasoned legends.
Igniting the flameTwenty-one-year-old Liu Junxi, a hurdler from Jiangsu Province, has emerged as the heir apparent to Liu Xiang, China's legendary Olympic gold medalist in the 110 meters hurdles.
At the Nanjing leg of the Grand Prix series, Liu clocked 7.47 seconds in the men's 60m hurdles, edging closer to Liu Xiang's Asian record of 7.41 seconds, which was set in 2012.
"I'm honored to be compared to Liu Xiang, but I know there's more work ahead," Liu said after setting a rare achievement. "Having achieved this result is a confidence booster for me to do better in the future."
Liu Junxi's result is also the best in Asia in 17 years.
Equally electrifying is 17-year-old sprint sensation Chen Yujie, who shattered the Asian Under-18 records in both the women's 60m (7.26 seconds) and 200m in the series.
Her performances, coupled with 22-year-old Dai Yiru's 8.19-second gold in the women's 60m hurdles at the Jinan leg of the Grand Prix series, underscores China's deepening talent pool.
These athletes are products of a revamped youth development system, which prioritizes early specialization and international exposure, said Zhang Bin, a Beijing-based sports commentator.
"A decade ago, we struggled to find successors to icons like Liu Xiang. Today, the system is producing not just one standout athlete, but a cohort of world-class contenders," Zhang told the Global Times.
Veterans' strength While youths dazzle, veterans like Su Bingtian - the fastest man in Asia - are proving that experience remains invaluable. After a post-Olympic hiatus, the 35-year-old sprint icon made a stirring comeback at the Jinan Grand Prix, winning the men's 60m in 6.65 seconds. Su remarked that this would be his last 60m race in his career. "I'm filled with emotions returning to the track," said Su, who is now a sports education professor with Jinan University in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province.
Su, the oldest participant in the 60 meters sprint, said his eyes are already set on the 2025 National Games, which is scheduled to be held in November in his hometown in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
"I will continue to work hard to restore my physical functions and strive to do my best in the National Games to be held in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area," he said.
Though Su is past his peak form, analysts believe that the veteran's presence is invaluable for the mental strength of younger athletes.
Similarly, Wu Yanni, a Paris Olympian, reaffirmed her dominance by claiming the women's 60m hurdles title in 8.16 seconds in the Nanjing leg - a personal season-best performance that silenced doubts about her post-Olympic form.
However, her result, which she said was far behind her best, is yet to secure her a spot for the indoor world championships in Nanjing. "The presence of Su in the domestic event could be the glue holding all the younger cohorts together," Zhang told the Global Times. "Their presence raises the entire squad's morale."
Top athletes participate in the 2025 National Indoor Athletics Grand Prix (Leg 4), a test event for the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province, on February 22, 2025.
Winter training pays off Behind the scenes, Chinese athletes have honed their skills through rigorous winter training camps. At Kunming's Haigeng Training Base in Southwest China's Yunnan Province, considered a high-altitude "champions' cradle," the national team underwent intensive preparation during the winter season.
The results are evident.
At the National Indoor Grand Prix, female sprinter Liang Xiaojing clocked 7.19 seconds in the 60m, a seasonal best, while long jumper Wang Jianan used the series to refine his technique ahead of the Nanjing world championships.
Toward global stage Hosting major events has long been a catalyst for Chinese athletics. The 2015 Beijing World Championships, which saw breakthroughs like the men's 4x100m relay team's historic silver medal, laid the groundwork for today's ambitions.
Now, with Nanjing set to host the 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships - the first to be held in China, the event provides a stage to showcase progress of China's track and field sports. For Liu Junxi, the event will be an opportunity to measure himself against world leading athletes, including reigning world champion Grant Holloway of the US.
Meanwhile, the 2027 Beijing World Championships will also come full-circle, 12 years after the city's inaugural hosting in 2015.
With two World Athletics Diamond League events held in China every year, Chinese track and field athletes are being provided with more and more opportunities to challenge world elite athletes.
"Hosting major global events, including Nanjing 2025 and Beijing 2027, proves China is serious about becoming a powerhouse of track and field, a discipline that traditionally has not been particularly strong in China," said Zhu Meng, a Beijing-based sports commentator.
"Along with the Chinese athletes' performances, infrastructure and fan engagement here could also set a new benchmark for the sports."
