Xu Zhuoyi, Wu Yanni win hurdles titles at National Athletics Championships

The National Athletics Championships wrapped up last night at the Quzhou Sports Center in Zhejiang, where Xu Zhuoyi from Shanghai clinched his first national championship title by winning the men's 110m hurdles.

Xu, who reached the semifinals at the Paris Olympics, was in lane 6, while 18-year-old rising star Chen Yuanjiang, who set a personal best in the semis, was in lane 4. Defending champion Zhu Shenglong from Hubei was in lane 5.

When the starting gun went off, Zhu was the first to react. After the first three hurdles, Liu Junxi from Jiangsu in lane 8 gradually pulled ahead. However, Xu's strong finish allowed him to overtake everyone to win his first national championship with a time of 13.31 seconds.

Liu finished second in 13.41 seconds, while third place Chen clocked 13.49 seconds, to earn his first medal in a senior national championship.

"The result of today's race was within my expectations. During the pre-race warm-up, there was a minor incident—my ankle suddenly started hurting. I managed to deal with it in time, so it didn’t have much of an impact. The race went on as usual, and my plans weren’t disrupted. Since returning from the Paris Olympics, I haven’t been training systematically and prepared for the race in a half-adjusted, half-practicing way," Xu said.

"I think the result of 13.31 seconds is acceptable. I had hoped to finish in 13.27 seconds to qualify for the World Championships next year, but given that I haven’t been training properly, I feel the result is still acceptable," he added.

In the women's 100m hurdles final, Liu Jingyang from Guangdong, who was in lane 3, was disqualified for a false start after the first gun.

When the race restarted, Wu Yanni from Sichuan in lane 5 dominated and won the title with a time of 13.05 seconds. Chen Yinfeng from Yunnan finished second with 13.39 seconds, while 18-year-old Wu Binbin from Fujian ran a season-best of 13.41 seconds to take bronze.

The Quzhou Sports Center also saw the crowning of a double champion, as 20-year-old Liang Tiantian from Henan, who won the women's 5000m, also claimed the title in the 10,000m with a time of 33 minutes and 6.84 seconds.