This year's Nagoya Asian Games marathon will kick off on September 26. Previously there had been no official word on China's Asian Games marathon selection race, but an announcement finally came last night, the marathon selection will be the Lanzhou Marathon starting on May 24.

The "Selection Procedures for Athletics to Participate in the Aichi–Nagoya Asian Games" outlines the specific selection process, which is divided into three stages:

1. Athletes meeting the standards apply for pre-selection eligibility

3. Participation in the Asian Games pre-competition training camp

Athletes who earn selection for the Asian Games must attend the pre-Games training camp as required by the Chinese Athletics Association, and those who do not attend the camp will be regarded as having voluntarily withdrawn from participating in the Asian Games.

As of April 10, based on World Athletics' database (some March results have not yet been uploaded), a total of 24 female athletes and 23 male athletes have met the application standards.

Note that eligible athletes must complete the entry form and, after approval by the relevant governing authority, submit it to the Athletics Association; non-registered athletes competing in a personal capacity may also apply.

Currently the women's tenth place is Liu Min with 2:28:16,Nine of the top ten women are registered athletes; in theory they should all participate in the selection.

The men's tenth place is Zhaxi Ciren with 2:09:43. Whether non-registered athletes such as Hong Yue in the men's top ten register for the selection will have a considerable impact on the other athletes.

This year’s Lanzhou Marathon will be held on May 24, leaving athletes only one and a half months to prepare.

The time available for athletes to prepare for this year’s Asian Games trials is quite limited. Having come off major races in March, many athletes haven’t had sufficient time to recover before immediately entering race preparation again, which further raises the level of difficulty.

Putting the Asian Games selection race at the Lanzhou Marathon means temperatures will be relatively comfortable for the athletes, which helps them hit good form; the late-May southern weather would present a major challenge for running a marathon.

On the flip side, late-September in Japan could well be a "hot battle", and the athletes will correspondingly lose the chance for a "simulation race".

Furthermore, Lanzhou's average altitude of around 1,500 meters on the sub-plateau significantly increases the difficulty of the race.

With Chinese marathoners recording a collective major breakthrough in March, the competition at this selection race will become even more compelling, the showdown between Feng Peiyou and He Jie will be the focus of attention, and among the women the performances of Zhang Deshun, Li Meizhen, and Li Zhixuan are also worth looking forward to.

At the same time, because the Asian Games marathon takes place in the same week as the Berlin Marathon, at the start of the second half of the season, how athletes coordinate their race schedules and allocate their focus and energy will become a variable that affects the selection trials' results.

Currently, neighboring Japan has already announced its Asian Games marathon roster: the men's selections are Yuya Yoshida (2:05:16) and Kazutaka Yamashita (2:05:51), while the women selected are Sayaka Sato (2:20:59) and Mikuni Yada (debut marathon 2:19:57). Clearly, with home advantage, everyone’s willingness is much higher, and Japanese athletes are considerably stronger than at the previous edition.

At the last Hangzhou Asian Games, He Jie made history by winning the men's marathon, Yang Shaohui took the bronze, and Zhang Deshun and Li Zhixuan finished second and fourth in the women's race respectively — all delivered outstanding results. With Japanese athletes competing on home soil this time, Chinese runners will face even fiercer competition.

Which four Chinese athletes will ultimately line up at the Asian Games marathon start line? Let's wait and see!