Can Chinese fireworks work
again?
The last edition
of the IAAF World Race Walking Cup, held in
Beijing in 1995, was notable for a domination of
the individual races by Chinese athletes. The
fact that the women’s 10 km was won by Gao
Hongmiao, with her countrywoman Liu Hongyu third,
was not surprising. Even without home advantage
China’s women had a formidable record in
this competition. Since 1979 they have won four
individual titles and have had more Top 3
finishes in the "Eschborn Cup" team
contest than anyone except the mighty USSR. The
decision to focus on the race walk as a way of
showing the athletic potential of Chinese women
was vindicated in the 1992 Olympic Games in
Barcelona. There, in the first ever Olympic race
walking event for women, China won gold courtesy
of Chen Yueling, bronze thanks to Li Chunxiu with
Cui Yingzi finishing fifth. A year later, at the
World Championships in Stuttgart it was
China’s women distance runners who stole the
headlines as the walkers - Yan Wang and Hongyu -
were disqualified . In Goteborg, Hongyu finished
eighth with Gu Yan 11th while in
Atlanta Yan Gu finished fourth. Gu will start in
Podebrady as will Hongyo, who is hoping for an
improvement on her Beijing bronze.
China’s male
walkers are more of a mystery. Until Beijing
’95 they were overshadowed by their female
compatriots but all that changed when Zhao
Yongshen won the 50km and Li Zewen the 20km.
Showing supreme endurance and a style remarkable
for its extraordinary cadence many observers
wondered whether a revolution was about to take
place. But disappointing performances both in
Goteborg, where Yongshen collapsed with heat
exhaustion at 40 km after setting a blistering
early pace, and Atlanta, mean China’s men
still have something to prove. Both men’s
champions will be defending not just their titles
but their reputations in Podebrady.
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News
Following on from Paul Warburton's account of
the last World Race Walking Cup in Peking,
Nicolas Davies looks at China's chances of
repeating her victories in Podebrady: Fireworks
in store!
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