This year has been a breakthrough year for Chinese women's marathon, and with Zhang Deshun making a bigPB, active Chinese women's marathoners have moved a step closer to the national record. Not only Zhang Deshun, Wu Bing, Xu Bingjie, Li Meizhen have to everyone's surprise seen a majorbreakthrough, and with in her debut she ransub-2:30 Zheng Xiaoqian,has madepeople sense thevibrant resurgence of Chinese women's marathon.
As with the men's field, China’s best women's performance of the year was also produced at the Tokyo marathon, and "top female" Zhang Deshun gave it her all, ultimately reducing the gap between the leading active female athlete and the national record to 1 minute 14 seconds — a target that once seemed out of reach now looks within sight.
Beyond "top female" Zhang Deshun, Wu Bing's impressive 2:26:01 at the Jiaxing Marathon Asian Championships also caught attention. In her next marathon after the National Games she posted 2:27:17, proving she is not just a flash in the pan — this athlete, who appeared very laid-back in interviews, still has a lot of potential.
From Nagoya to the World Championships and the National Games,Ciren Cuomuthe 'who else but me' fighting spirit she displayed on the course brought abundant energy. And the further-matured 'Henan duo' Xu Bingjie and Lu Ying have become an undeniable Henan force.
Similar to the men's field,in the latter half of the year the World Championships and the National Games affected athletes' chances of running fast times, among womenthis effect iseven more noticeable. Nine of the top ten results were produced in races held in March, inNovember at the Nanjing debut marathonSUB 230 runner Zheng Xiaoqian亦was also unaffected by major championships.
Four of the top ten results were set at the Wuxi Marathon, the same as last year; Tokyo, Nagoya and Seoul have become international stages where strong performances are born.
Competition among China's women's marathoners now shows a 'one dominant, many strong' pattern, "number one" Zhang Deshun leads the way. Young talents and marathon newcomers are charging forward bravely. Although the Chinese national record for the women's marathon has remained unchanged for 23 years, we believe that China's women's marathoners, having come out of a trough, are getting increasingly close to that record.
