Xie stuns Su to win 100m in Tianjin

Wei Yongli takes women’s national title in 11.31 seconds

Promising sprinter Xie Zhenye of Zhejiang stunned his national relay teammate Su Bingtian to claim the 100-meter dash gold medal with a time of 10.04 seconds at the National Games on Sunday in Tianjin.

China’s sprinting marquee star Su was only 0.06 seconds behind Xie.

Xie said he felt the win was unbelievable.

“I have never expected to win the race,” Xie told reporters afterward. “Today I was only a little bit luckier than them.”

Xie was referring to Zhang Peimeng of the Beijing team, who won the 100 meters at the 2013 National Games. Zhang was the first Asian runner to level the 10-second mark, achieving it in the 2013 worlds championships.

“I only focus on myself and do my best,” Xie said. “I’m happy I kept my own pace during the race, which I think was the key to today’s win.”

Xie will also compete in the men’s 200 meters final on Monday.

Though Su has made a lot of breakthroughs in sprinting when representing China, he has never won it at the National Games.

Su is the only Asian-born athlete to break the 10-second mark. He made it to the men’s 100 meters final at the world championships in 2015 and 2017, and also the 2016 Olympic Games, earning him the precious chances of running along sprinting legend Usain Bolt.

“I have done my best, but today Xie did better than me on details,” Su said. “It shows he has progressed a lot.”

“The competition among us will only boost our national team’s capability,” Su said, before noting the only thing he cares about now is “how to extend his form to the Tokyo Olympic Games.”

It was Zhang’s last race at the National Games, he said before the race, after speculation that he may retire. Zhang clocked 10.34 seconds in the final to finish sixth.

“We are in a competition to make each other better,” Zhang said of the competition between him and Su, as well as the one between Su and Xie. “It’s not about fate. I am very happy that I made contribution to Chinese track and field.”

Xie, Su, Zhang and Wu Zhiqiang – who finished fourth on Sunday – grouped up to represent China in the 4x100-meter relay at the world championships in August, where they finished fourth.

Earlier in the evening, Wei Yongli of the Guangxi team won the women’s 100 meters in 11.31 seconds.