He wins first men's marathon gold for China at Asiad

He Jie of China celebrates after the Men's Marathon Final of Athletics at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Oct. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Sun Fei)

HANGZHOU, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- He Jie claimed China's first men's marathon title at the Hangzhou Asian Games here on Thursday.

He clocked in at two hours 13 minutes and two seconds to claim the historic victory.

DPR Korea's Han Il Ryong finished 2:13:27 to grab silver and China's Yang Shaohui took bronze with 2:13:39.

The first 30km saw seven runners stay close, but only He and Han were still in the leading group after 40km before He pushed himself forward in the last two kilometers to breast the tape.

"I told my coach that I have a dream and I will do it no matter what it takes. All of my plans this year are centered around preparing for the Asian Games, as this competition will be held in China and 1.4 billion Chinese people are watching," the 24-year old runner said.

His teammate Yang said that his strategy was to follow the leading group. "When He took the lead in the final two kilometers, I believe he can win the race and I kept my speed to get a bronze medal. I am satisfied with the result," Yang said.

In the women's race, Eunice Chebichii Paul Chumba of Bahrain won the gold medal with a winning time of 2:26:14, China's Zhang Deshun finished 2:27:55 to take the silver, the bronze medal went to Sardana Trofimova of Kyrgyzstan who clocked her season best 2:28:41.

"I achieved my goal to stand on the podium today. I could not follow the leading group at the end of the race, so I tried to maintain my speed for a top three finish," Zhang said.

Her teammate Li Zhixuan came fourth with 2:30:02.

China has made major progress in marathon these years. Only five year ago Duobujie finished third to win the first men's Asiad marathon medal for China at the 2018 Asian Games. 

He Jie of China crosses the finishing line during the Men's Marathon Final of Athletics at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Oct. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Jiang Han)

He Jie of China crosses the finishing line during the Men's Marathon Final of Athletics at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Oct. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Sun Fei)