Peng Jianhua from east China's Jiangxi Province won his first marathon title in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province on Sunday. For a 21-year-old young man who has ran only six marathons (and failed to finish one) in his career, this is already brilliant work.

"From now on I will focus on the Tokyo Olympic qualification next year," Peng told Xinhua. "I hope I can break domestic record (of China) during the qualification and continue to improve my PB (personal best record)."

Again, this was only Peng's sixth marathon. That's why the reporter checked with him again: "Did you say you want to break the domestic record next year?" "Yeah, I believe I can do it!" replied Peng. His coach, Xiao Li, gave the same answer.

Peng finished in 2:08:50 in Nanjing, which is already the third-best time for a Chinese marathon runner. In fact, he was only 34 seconds way from the domestic record set by Ren Longyun in the Beijing International Marathon in 2007.

Peng's confidence was built on his talents, according to Xiao. As domestic champion in both the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter races, Peng began to practice marathon in the winter between 2018 and 2019. His first goal was to secure qualification for the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha in 2019.

He did it by finishing his first marathon in 2:13:20. That's what convinced Xiao this young man should target the Olympics. "He has what it takes to make a remarkable athlete. He can run, he wants to run and we work well in training. He loves athletics," said the coach.

Though he qualified for it, Peng did not go to Doha. Instead, he went to Kenya and trained for three months there with the help of the Chinese Athletic Association. Last December, Peng qualified for the Olympic marathon competition (2:11:30).

Xiao admitted that Peng still has a lot to work on if he wants to compete with top athletes in Tokyo. The 21-year-old said he's ready to work even harder this winter.