China at the IAAF Athletics World Championships: the highs and lows of a mixed campaign ahead of the Tokyo Olympics
- China captures three gold medals, its best performance since a four-gold haul in 1993 in Stuttgart
- All nine medals come from the women and all are won in field events or race walking
China captured three gold, three silver and three bronze medals in Doha, finishing fourth in the medals standings. It won four golds at the 1993 worlds in Stuttgart but has since failed to win more than two gold medals until this year. With the 2020 Olympic Games in less than a year, China has plenty to do to challenge the top nations at the National Stadium in Tokyo.
Here are some of the highs and lows experienced by Chinese athletes at the Doha Worlds.
Highlights
1. Chinese women dominated the race walks in Doha, capturing gold and silver medals in the 20km and 50km, taking that tally to five thanks to a bronze in the shorter distance.
For the first time at the worlds, the women’s 20km race walk was swept by one nation and champion Liu Hong will definitely be a hot favourite to defend her Rio Olympic title in Tokyo next year.