25-year-old runner He Jie finished fourth at the 2024 Wuxi Marathon in 2 hours 6 minutes 57 seconds to set a new record for the Chinese marathon.
Jie broke the previous record of 2 hours 7 minutes 9 seconds set by Yang Shaohui at the Fukuoka International Marathon in December 2023. Previously, Jie himself held the Chinese marathon record with 2 hours 7 minutes 30 seconds also at the Wuxi Marathon last year, on March 19, 2023. Thus, in just one year, Jie improved his record by 33 seconds, regaining his position as the fastest marathon runner in China.
Jie is the first runner to help China reach the 2 hour 6 minute mark in the marathon. But compared to the world level, the parameters that this athlete has just achieved are still modest, only the 381st fastest in the history of this event, according to statistics from World Athletics.
At the Wuxi Marathon on March 24, Ethiopian athlete Tadu Abate Deme finished first, breaking the race record with a time of 2 hours 6 minutes 18 seconds. Following him were Abay Alemu Lesa of Ethiopia and Nicholas Kirwa of Kenya.
He Jie (in black) celebrates after finishing the Wuxi Marathon 2024 on March 24. Photo: Xinhua
"I am satisfied with today's performance, this is the result of our hard work during the training camp in Kenya. The foreign athletes competed at a very high level and I almost collapsed in the sprint. But the result shows that the better the opponent, the stronger I am," Jie added.
The 2024 Wuxi Marathon women's race was dominated by Kenyans. Veronica Maina finished first and broke the race record with a time of 2:24:46. Her compatriots Rodah Jepkorir Tanui and Monica Chebet Chepkwony followed in 2:26:24 and 2:26:30 respectively.
The 2024 Wuxi Marathon marks the 10th anniversary of the event, and is also the first stage of this year's national marathon championship and the qualifying round for the Paris Olympics. In the men's event, Jie, Shaohui Yang (2:07:26) and Sangji Dongzhi (2:09:29) were the top three Chinese athletes. In the women's event, Zhang Deshun (2:27:12), Li Dan (2:27:32) and Bai Li (2:28:17) were the top three Chinese athletes.
According to the Chinese Athletics Federation, the 2024 Wuxi Marathon and several international races held from January 1 to May 5 serve as Olympic qualifiers. The top three finishers in these races will represent China in Paris. By the end of the 2024 Wuxi Marathon, Jie, Yang and Wu Xiangdong had secured three spots for the men, while Xia Yuyu, Zhang and Bai had secured three spots for the women.
He Jie sets Chinese marathon record with 2 hours 6 minutes 57 seconds.
Looking ahead to the 2024 Paris Olympics, both Jie and head marathon coach Xiao Li have high expectations and a desire to take China to new heights. Coach Xiao Li assessed that Jie was in very good form when he won all 10 tournaments last year, including the Asian Games gold medal. He and Jie set a goal of entering the top 8 at the 2024 Paris Olympics. "If realized, this will be a historic milestone for Chinese athletics," said coach Li.
He Jie is China's top marathoner. Last year, he made history by winning the 19th Asian Games in 2 hours 13 minutes 2 seconds and helping China win its first gold medal in the 42.195 km race at the Asian Games. Also in 2023, Jie will win the 2023 Wuhan Marathon in 2 hours 12 minutes 35 seconds.
Hong Duy
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