Chinese long jumper Wang Jianan aims for new breakthrough in Paris

When Wang Jianan reached 8.36 meters in the men's long jump final at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, on July 16, 2022, he became the first Asian gold medalist in the discipline in the history of the World Championships.

"Winning the gold at the World Championships in Eugene was a dream come true. So I began to prepare for the 2024 Olympic Games as a world champion and I knew people would have certain expectations for me," Wang told the China Media Group (CMG).

"But there is no 'absolute' in athletics, especially in the long jump," he added. "So I kept telling myself not to stress about it, not to overthink it."

Wang bowed out at 8.05 meters in the final at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, in 2023. That result left him in fifth place, which secured qualification for the 2024 Summer Olympics, his third appearance at the Games. In the previous two editions, Wang finished in fifth place in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and failed to advance to the final at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

This time in Paris, Wang wants to achieve a new breakthrough.

"Based on my experience, every time I grew in the past years, I did it after a failure or setback. One may get lost if things go too well for him because he can't foresee a crisis. When I look back at my failure in Tokyo, I could have blamed a lot of people for it, but I had to find my part in the failure and figure out what I did wrong," he said.

"I definitely want to get a medal in Paris. I need to enhance my strength and improve my consistency so I can go through the preliminary round at the smallest cost in Paris. I don't want to think too much about the result. I don't want to be concerned about it or get too excited about it. Like I said, I can't control it," Wang told CMG.

"I want to say, if I can do my best on the field and enjoy the Olympic Games in good form, the result will be good," he concluded.