The 2026 National Athletics Championships concluded last week in Quzhou, Zhejiang. After five days of competition the final rankings on the gold and overall medal tables were decided. This edition of the meet awarded a total of 138 medals, with Sichuan topping the standings with 21 medals and finishing first on both the gold and overall medal tables.
Meanwhile Beijing collected 5 silvers and 4 bronzes to show considerable depth, and Hunan Xingxiang’s three golds — all from women’s jumping events — made them the most efficient at turning entries into titles.
A look at the medal shares by provincial teams sketches out several notable patterns from this championship.
Gold table analysis
The top group shows divergence
Looking back at this National Athletics Championships, 44 golds, 44 silvers and 50 bronzes were awarded — 138 medals in total. Among them, Sichuan’s haul of 11 golds, 3 silvers and 7 bronzes (21 total) put them decisively on top of both the gold and overall medal tables.Analyzing the gold table, we find Sichuan’s dominant 11-gold lead — a gap that is nearly double the second-place gold tally.Sichuan’s golds span five categories: sprints & relays, middle & long distance, hurdles, throws and combined events.Wu Yanni defended her 100m hurdles title for the third straight edition with 13.12s, He Wuxia took golds in both the women’s 5000m and 10000m, and Sichuan swept the men’s and women’s 4×100m and 4×400m relays plus the mixed 4×100m — contributing five golds from relay events alone.Wu Yanni clinched a third straight 100m hurdles title
Chen Chengyu topped the men’s shot put, Wang Jiahao won the men’s 5000m, Yang Kegu took the men’s 10000m, and Hu Xingyu claimed the women’s heptathlon with a personal best of 5841 points — this multi-pronged success put Sichuan first on both the gold and overall medal tables.Yang Kegu topped the men’s 10,000mZhejiang Sports Lottery finished second on the gold table with 6 golds. Taking advantage of the home field and sprint strength, Xie Zhenye won the men’s 100m in 10.10s, and 17-year-old Chen Yuxie won the women’s 100m in 11.08s to set a new Asian U20 record; Zhejiang’s six golds also include titles in the women’s 800m, 1500m and javelin.However, Zhejiang’s total medal count was only 12, and they slipped to fourth on the overall table — their medals were concentrated in a few standout athletes.Chen Yuxie set a new Asian U20 recordShanghai Ya Yi and Shandong Zhongtai Securities tied for third with five golds each. Shanghai’s golds came from Su Wen in the men’s triple jump (17.20m), Xu Jiajie in the men’s javelin (80.08m), Lu Jiawen in the women’s high jump (1.90m), Chen Yuanjiang in the men’s 110m hurdles (13.13s) and Jiang Yutong in the women’s 400m (52.93s), concentrated in jumps, throws and sprints.Chen Yuanjiang won the men’s 110m hurdles in 13.13sShandong Zhongtai Securities showed particular strength in the throws: Feng Bin won the women’s discus with 62.51m, Zhang Jiale set a new Asian record in the women’s hammer with 78.64m, Liu Kai won the men’s 400m in 45.67s, Li Chenyang cleared 5.80m in the men’s pole vault, and Li Wu won the men’s 1500m in 3:45.54 — Shandong’s success spanned throws, sprints, pole vault and middle distance.Li Wu won the men’s 1500m in 3:45.54Jiangsu Wolandi’s four golds all came from men’s events: Wang Qi won the men’s hammer with 73.93m, Dong Zi'ang cleared 2.24m in the men’s high jump, Sun Qihao scored 7596 points in the men’s decathlon, and the mixed 4×400m relay also delivered gold — Jiangsu swept gold, silver and bronze in the men’s hammer, showing dominance in that discipline.The top five teams combined for 31 of the 44 golds — roughly 70%, with the remaining 13 golds scattered across 10 teams. Gold distribution was highly concentrated.
Medal table analysis
What the silver medals reveal
Sorted by total medals, Sichuan again leads with 21 medals; their 11–3–7 distribution shows an extremely high gold conversion rate. Shanghai Ya Yi sit second on the medal table with 16 medals — 5 gold, 5 silver and 6 bronze — a very balanced spread and the most even medal distribution of the meet.Jiangsu Wolandi are third on the medal table with 14 medals; they also collected the most silvers (6). That shows many athletes reached finals and podiums, but still just missed the top step more often than not.Zhejiang Sports Lottery’s 12 medals place them fourth, while Shandong Zhongtai Securities sit fifth with 11 medals.Beijing’s medal composition merits a separate discussion: 0 gold, 5 silver and 4 bronze for a total of 9 medals — seventh on the medal table but only 16th on the gold table. This is a strong team without golds.Xia Yuyu took silver in the women’s 5000m and bronze in the 10000m, Li Yuan won silver in the women’s 1500m, Wang Maisong claimed silver in the men’s long jump, and Xue Kunzhi took bronze in the women’s 100m — several athletes stood on the podium but none reached the top.Beijing’s lack of golds signals depth but a lack of top-end specialists.Hunan Xingxiang’s 3 golds, 0 silver, 0 bronze is an extreme case: all three golds came from Li Yi in the women’s triple jump, Huang Yu in the women’s 200m, and Zhang Mingkun in the men’s long jump. They had the highest gold efficiency but no silvers or bronzes — this team relied on standout individuals to carry its place on the medal table.Kong Yingying was the team’s only gold medalistFujian collected 2 golds, 4 silvers and 3 bronzes — a relatively even spread. Guangdong won 1 gold, 2 silvers and 3 bronzes, with Kong Yingying’s 56.20s in the women’s 400m hurdles the lone gold for that squad. Xinjiang’s Abuduwaini Tuo'ergong won the men’s discus with 63.58m, securing a fourth straight national title in that event.Luo Xia won the women’s 3000m steeplechaseTibet’s Zaxi Ciren won the men’s 3000m steeplechase in 8:36.16, and Yunnan’s Luo Xia won the women’s 3000m steeplechase — both results marked first-ever golds for their representative teams at this edition.Athlete highlights
Veterans and newcomers both shine
On an individual level, several athletes won two or more golds and demonstrated dominant performances across events.Among them, He Wuxia was one of the brightest stars, taking the women’s 5000m in 15:53.77 and the 10000m in 33:54.33, establishing herself as the leader of women’s middle- and long-distance running at this meet.He Wuxia claimed two long-distance goldsYang Kegu also impressed for Sichuan, winning the men’s 10000m in 29:06.40, and Wang Jiahao added the men’s 5000m title in 13:56.22, giving Sichuan further middle- and long-distance golds.Chen Yuxie was one of the most-watched newcomers at this meet: the 17-year-old won the women’s 100m in 11.08s, breaking her own Asian U20 record.Wu Yanni continued her dominance in the women’s 100m hurdles, taking the title in 13.12s for a third consecutive win in the event.Chen Yuxie broke her own Asian U20 recordXie Zhenye of Zhejiang Sports Lottery won the men’s 100m in 10.10s; approaching his 33rd birthday, he remains among the country’s top sprinters.Xie Zhenye remains among the nation’s top performersShandong Zhongtai Securities’ throwers stood out: Feng Bin won the women’s discus with 62.51m, teammate Jiang Zhichao took silver with 61.85m, and Zhang Jiale won the women’s hammer with a championship Asian record of 78.64m.Jiangsu Wolandi’s Wang Qi won the men’s hammer with 73.93m, teammate Li Zixu was second with 73.54m and Chen Jiawei third with 69.98m — Jiangsu swept the men’s hammer podium.Chen Yuanjiang’s 13.13s in the men’s 110m hurdles places him third in Chinese history for the event.Zhang Mingkun of Hunan Xingxiang won the men’s long jump with 8.24m, and Liu Ke of Hubei Tanshezhe won the men’s 200m in 20.26s — a result that also places him third in Chinese history for the distance.Tibet’s Zaxi Ciren contributed 1 gold and 1 silver for his team — winning the men’s 3000m steeplechase (8:36.16) and taking silver in the men’s 10000m — he was Tibet’s core performer at this meet.Xie Zhiyu of Henan Xtep won the men’s 400m hurdles in 49.13s, earning Henan’s only gold medal.Xie Zhiyu earned Henan’s only goldThere were also several multi-medal athletes who didn’t win gold but showed consistency. Beijing’s Xia Yuyu, for example, won silver in the women’s 5000m and bronze in the 10000m (1 silver, 1 bronze).Zhejiang Sports Lottery’s Xu Hui won gold in the women’s 1500m and added silver in the women’s 800m — 1 gold and 1 silver.Sichuan’s Yin Zihao contributed a silver in the men’s 1500m and a bronze in the men’s 800m (1 silver, 1 bronze).Sichuan’s relay strength also showed up in individual athletes competing across relay events — rotation of athletes contributed four relay golds for Sichuan.
Looking back at the 2026 National Athletics Championships, the medal table is a mirror reflecting the current landscape of Chinese athletics and sets up more storylines for provincial rivalries heading into 2027.
Text/Editor: Jim
Photo source: 跑野大爆炸
Visuals: Max
