Need for speed
Blistering start to season giving sprint star belief sub-9.90 mark could be close
After string of wins, Su Bingtian eyes sub-9.90 in 100 meters
Su Bingtian has burst out of the blocks to get his new season off to a perfect start.
And after making it a hat-trick of victories over 60 meters in Germany this week, China’s fastest man is growing increasingly confident a historic sub-9.90 run over 100 meters might not be far away.
On Wednesday, Su claimed his third straight win over 60m at the Dusseldorf stop of the IAAF World Indoor Tour, clocking 6.49 seconds and registering a lightning-quick reaction time of 0.124 sec.
Last week, Su won in Birmingham, England with a season-best 6.47 after getting his indoor season off to a flier in Athlone, Ireland, where he won in 6.52.
Su’s personal best is 6.42, an Asian record he set at the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham last March.
“The start-reaction time in Dusseldorf was the best I have got in the past few years,” Su said after his victory in Dusseldorf.
“The 60-meter race is my strength. The first three meets are just the start of this season, which for me is a test for my winter training’s result.
“The result that I ran under 6.5s twice showed that the winter training worked and I still have the strength. I hope to keep my momentum and try not to get injured and have great performances in the 100 meters.”
Each season, Su uses 60m races as a warm-up for his efforts over 100m. His treble of triumphs has given him even more reason to believe he will soon achieve his ultimate goal of clocking under 9.90 in the 100.
As the first Asia-born sprinter to break the 100m 10-second barrier, Su twice equaled the Asian record of 9.91 and ran 9.92 to take the Asian Games title in Jakarta last year.
His 60m successes suggest he might yet trim a few more hundredths of a second off those times.
“There are chances for me to run under 9.90 seconds, but there are many factors that could influence the final result,” said Su.
“I feel that even if I can’t break the barrier in the short term, my performance this season will be at least as good as last year.”
Su will turn 30 this August, so staying in peak condition is not as straightforward as it used to be.
A solid winter training block is vital, with Su working with the Chinese athletics team in Beijing since October.
Despite his early-season success, the perfectionist in Su has not been completely satisfied with his performances and he has pinpointed numerous details to improve upon.
He particularly found fault with his Birmingham run, saying he was frustrated at being unable to hit top gear in the final race.
Su, who briefly retired last April to become an associate professor at Jinan University in Guangzhou, has been quick to credit his support team, led by American coach Randy Huntington, for his fine form.
“I really want to thank my team that helped me to arrange everything in Europe,” he said.
“We arrived in Europe in the middle of the Chinese Spring Festival vacation.”