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 settled. This edition of the meetproduced a total of 138 medals., Sichuan topped the standings with 21 medals, finishing first on both the gold and overall medal tables.
Meanwhile, Beijing displayed overall depth with 5 silver and 4 bronze, and Hunan Xingxiang (湖南兴湘) secured 3 golds — all from women's jumping events — making them the team with the highest gold-conversion rate.
Reviewing the proportion of medals won by each provincial team neatly outlines this championships' medal table and highlights several narratives worth discussing.
Gold-medal table analysis
A split emerges among the top tier
Looking back at this edition of the National Athletics Championships,this meet awarded 44 golds, 44 silvers and 50 bronzes — 138 medals in total.Among them, Sichuan (四川队) topped both the gold and overall medal tables with 11 gold, 3 silver and 7 bronze — 21 medals in total.Analyzing the gold-medal standings, we can see Sichuan's dominant11 golds give them a clear lead — nearly twice the number of the second-place team.。Sichuan's golds were spread across five areas: sprint relays, middle- and long-distance, hurdles, throws and combined events.Wu Yanni won a third consecutive women's 100-meter hurdles title with a time of 13.12 seconds. He Wuxia claimed both golds in the women's 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters. The men's and women's 4×100m and 4×400m relays all took first place, along with the mixed 4×100m relay.the relays alone contributed five golds.。Wu Yanni secures a third consecutive title in the women's 100-meter hurdles.
Chen Chengyu topped the men's shot put, Wang Jiahao topped the men's 5,000 meters, and Yang Kegu topped the men's 10,000 meters, while Hu Xingyu took the women's heptathlon with a personal best of 5,841 points — a multi‑pronged showing.put Sichuan at the top of both the gold and overall medal tables.。Yang Kegu also topped the podium in the men's 10,000 meters.Zhejiang Sports Lottery ranked second on the gold medal table with six golds. Leveraging home advantage and sprinting strength, Xie Zhenye won the men's 100 meters in 10.10 seconds, while Chen Yuxie took the women's 100 meters in 11.08 seconds, setting a new Asian U20 record. Including victories in the women's 800 meters, 1500 meters and javelin, the team amassed six gold medals overall.But Zhejiang Sports Lottery finished with only 12 medals in total, dropping to fourth on the medal table,and the medals were concentrated in a small number of top athletes.Chen Yuxie broke the Asian U20 recordShanghai Ya Yi and Shandong Zhongtai Securities tied for third with 5 golds apiece, ShanghaiYa YiShanghai Ya Yi’s golds came from Su Wen in the men’s triple jump 17.20 m, Xu Jiajie men’s javelin 80.08 m, Lu Jiawen women’s high jump 1.90 m, Chen Yuanjiang men’s 110 m hurdles 13.13 s, and Jiang Yutong women’s 400 m 52.93 s — concentrated in jumps, throws and sprint events.Chen Yuanjiang men’s 110 m hurdles 13.13 sShandongZhongtai SecuritiesShandong Zhongtai Securities’ golds showed strength in the throws: Feng Bin women’s discus 62.51 m; Zhang Jiale women’s hammer 78.64 m, an Asian record; Liu Kai men’s 400 m 45.67 s; Li Chenyang men’s pole vault 5.80 m; Li Wu men’s 1500 m 3:45.54 — spanning throws, sprints, pole vault and middle distance, covering a broader range.Li Wu men’s 1500 m 3:45.54Jiangsu Wolandi’s four golds all came from men’s events: Wang Qi men’s hammer 73.93 m; Dong Zi'ang men’s high jump 2.24 m; Sun Qihao men’s decathlon 7,596 points; and the mixed 4×400 m relay,Jiangsu swept gold, silver and bronze in the hammer throw, demonstrating dominance in that event。The top five teams combined won 31 golds, about 70% of the total 44 goldsThe remaining 14 golds were scattered among 10 teams, showing a highly concentrated distribution of gold medals.
Medal table analysis
What the number of silver medals reveals
When the medal table is ranked by total medals, Sichuan also leads with 21 medals; its breakdown of 11 gold, 3 silver and 7 bronze shows a very high conversion rate to gold. Shanghai Ya Yi is second on the medal table with 16 medals — 5 gold, 5 silver and 6 bronze — a very balanced distribution, the most even of any team.Jiangsu Wolandi ranks third with 14 medals and as many as 6 silver medals, the most of any team. Its athletes reached finals and stood on the podium multiple times, yet frequently fell one step short of the top step.Additionally, Zhejiang Sports Lottery's 12 medals slipped to fourth, while Shandong Zhongtai Securities' 11 medals ranked fifth.The Beijing team's medal makeup deserves separate discussion: 0 gold, 5 silver, 4 bronze, a total of 9 medals — seventh on the medal table but only 16th on the gold table; this is a strong team without a gold.Xia Yuyu won silver in the women's 5000m and bronze in the women's 10,000m; Li Yuan took silver in the women's 1500m; Wang Maisong claimed silver in the men's long jump; Xue Kunzhi won bronze in the women's 100m — several athletes reached the podium but none topped it.Beijing's lack of golds is a signal: depth but a lack of top‑end sharpness.Hunan Xingxiang's 3 gold, 0 silver, 0 bronze is an extreme stat: all 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; their medal‑taking efficiency was the highest in the field, yet they had no silver or bronze.This showsthisteam,is propped up by the standout strength of individual athleteson the medal table。Kong Yingying is the team's only gold medalist.Fujian, 2 gold, 4 silver, 3 bronze — medals were relatively evenly distributed; Guangdong, 1 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze. Kong Yingying's 56.20 in the women's 400m hurdles was the only gold. Xinjiang Tanchizhe athlete 阿卜杜艾尼·图尔贡 (Abduaini·Turgun) threw 63.58 m to win the men's discus, securing a four‑peat in this event at the national championships.Yunnan athlete Luo Xia won the women's 3000m steeplechase.Tibetan athlete Zhaxi Ciren won the men's 3000m steeplechase in 8:36.16; Yunnan athlete Luo Xia won the women's 3000m steeplechase — both delivered their teams' first golds.Individual athlete analysis
Veterans and newcomers alike shone.
On the individual side, several athletes at this edition won two or more gold medals, demonstrating personaloutstanding—dominance.Among them, 何巫呷 was undoubtedly one of the brightest stars of this edition, claiming the women's 5000 m in 15:53.77 and the women's 10000 m in 33:54.33.She has clearly become the leading figure in the women's middle- and long-distance events at this meet.He Wuxiabao swept both long-distance gold medals.Yang Kegu of the Sichuan team also put in an impressive performance, winning the men's 10,000-meter final in a commanding 29 minutes 06.40 seconds. Wang Jiahao won the men's 5,000-meter final in 13 minutes 56.22 seconds, adding another middle- and long-distance gold medal for the Sichuan team.陈妤颉 was undoubtedly one of the most watched newcomers at this meet — the 17-year-old won the women's 100 m final in 11.08s,breaking her own Asian U20 record.。Wu Yanni of the Sichuan team won the women's 100 m hurdles final in 13.12 seconds, securing her third consecutive title in the event.Chen Yuxie improved her own Asian U20 record.Xie Zhenye, competing for Zhejiang Sports Lottery, won the men's 100-meter final in 10.10 seconds. About to turn 33, he still maintains top domestic competitive form.Xie Zhenye continues to maintain top-tier competitive form domestically.Shandong Zhongtai Securities' throwers delivered an eye-catching performance. Feng Bin won the women's discus final with 62.51 meters, extending her dominance in the event. Teammate Jiang Zhichao took silver with 61.85 meters, the two combining to deliver gold and silver for Shandong. Additionally, Zhang Jiale competed in the women's hammer throw final.won with 78.64 m, setting a new Asian record.。Wang Qi of Jiangsu Wolandi won the men's hammer throw final with 73.93 meters; teammate Li Zixu took silver with 73.54 meters, and Chen Jiawei claimed bronze with 69.98 meters, as Jiangsu swept the gold, silver and bronze in the men's hammer throw.Chen Yuan of Shanghai Yayi will win the men's 110-meter hurdles final with a time of 13.13 seconds.a mark that ranks third in Chinese history.Zhang Mingkun of Hunan Xingxiang won the men's long jump final with a mark of 8.24 meters, and Liu Ke of the Hubei Catapults won the men's 200-meter final with a time of 20.26 seconds.ranking as the third-fastest in Chinese history.。Tibet's Tashi Ciren won the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase final in 8 minutes 36.16 seconds. Earlier he had taken silver in the men's 10,000-meter final, giving him one gold and one silver.is the Tibet team's key player in this edition of the competition.。Henan Xtep's Xie Zhiyu won the men's 400 meters hurdles final in 49.13 seconds, earning the Henan team its only gold medal.Xie Zhiyu won the Henan team's only gold medal.Several other athletes, though they did not win gold, showed consistent form with multiple medals. Beijing's Xia Yuyu took silver in the women's 5000 m and bronze in the women's 10,000 m, contributing 1 silver and 1 bronze.Zhejiang Sports Lottery's Xu Hui won gold in the women's 1500 m and also took silver in the women's 800 m, contributing 1 gold and 1 silver.Sichuan's Yin Zihao won silver in the men's 1500 m and bronze in the men's 800 m, contributing 1 silver and 1 bronze.Sichuan's overall strength in relay events was also reflected by individual athletes competing in multiple relay races,who rotated in to help Sichuan secure four relay gold medals.。
Looking back at the 2026 National Athletics Championships, the medal table serves as a mirror, reflecting the current balance of power in Chinese athletics and sowing new questions ahead of the 2027 provincial-team battles.
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Text/Editor: Jim
Image source: Paoye Dabaozha
Visual: Max
